


Willow Falls

by genop0ke



Series: Willow Falls [1]
Category: No Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Blood and a little Gore, Fairy Tale Elements, Fantasy, Legends, Multi, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Original Mythology, Other, POV Original Character, POV Third Person Omniscient, Smoking, Strong Language, Urban Legends, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-16
Updated: 2015-02-11
Packaged: 2018-02-13 10:25:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 24
Words: 25,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2147211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/genop0ke/pseuds/genop0ke
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is an independent story I've been planning on writing for a while. It's in no specific fandom, but I hope whoever likes what I shove out into the internet sticks around for the ride.</p><p>This was also partly inspired by a comic called Gunnerkrigg Court!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The New Kid in Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new boy arrives in town. Something's off about him, however...

  Willow Falls has never been your average town. Never. Supernatural occurrences are a normal day by day experience. Spotting a god from ancient mythology is something possible. No resident is 100% normal.

  Until today.

  A sixteen year old boy named Edward Allens steps out of a car, carrying a few bags towards a house. Him and his family had arrived in the small town after a long trip from their old home, deciding to move on to a new place. His parents were the normal ones, not him. They were very protective of him and seemed surprisingly passive in response to him getting in trouble. They also seemed to be fans of Edgar Allan Poe, either that or his name was coincidentally similar.

  Edward was a very proper acting boy, wearing formal-looking clothes all the time. A brown button-up vest. A white dress shirt with sleeves neatly rolled to his elbows. Thinly framed glasses. The odd bit of his appearance was two things: his pale, almost white hair except for blackened roots above his left eye, and the raven feather kept fastened to a string around his neck. His eyes were also pale blue, but that was a normal eye color for a normal human being. But the oddest thing about him was that wherever he went, a raven that could speak like a person that called herself Riamh went. 

  That's besides the point, however. The next day, he walked through the wide double doors of the high school he was newly enrolled in. A boy with a fluffy head of red hair, freckle-covered cheeks, and green eyes stood in front of him, beaming. He wore a fur-lined pilot jacket over a casual looking outfit including a white tee and faded jeans. What caught Edward's eye, however, was the pair of large, pure white wings folded behind his back. "Hey! You're that Allens kid, right? We've heard about you."

  "Could I perhaps have a tour of the school before classes begin? Maybe a bit of a who's who, since I've heard that many people here are... well, not really people?" The pale-haired boy inquired, holding the binder he chose to keep all his things in to his chest. 

  "Of _course_ many people here aren't people, Poe." Riamh quietly cooed, settling down on his shoulder.

  His smile widening, the stranger perked up. "A _talking raven_? That's cool. Well, I guess I could show you around. Introduce you to some people." He turned around and began walking. "C'mon."

  Edward nodded, moving behind the other. "If I may introduce myself, I am Edward Allens. However, many people call me Poe. The reasoning behind the moniker is easy to figure out." 

  "Ah, yeah. I see. Milton Travis, though everyone calls me Milo. I'm what you could call an angel. Well, not _really_. I'm not like one of those big Bible jerks. I'm more of a, uh... Seraph. Training to be one, I mean. I'll be getting my second pair of wings soon!" Milo laughed a little, stretching his wings out. "Look at 'em! Once I get all my wings I'll be able to learn how to control fire, too!"

  "Interesting... ah, who are they?" Poe gestured at an odd-looking couple down the hall. One had slicked back scarlet hair and blue eyes, wearing the top to a black uniform. Below his waist looked like the abdomen of some large bug. The small girl sitting with him looked too young to be in a high school, but was with him anyway. She had long, bluish black hair and wide blue eyes accompanying catlike qualities, such as pointed ears, a long, soft tail, and hands that looked almost like paws.

  Milo smiled, waving to the two. "Ah, _them_? The big guy's Adair Delrick. He's some bug centaur... thing. Other girl is Midori Suzuki. Nobody knows where she came from, but she's a Nekomata and got adopted by the Delrick family a few years back. She's Japanese but picked up English really quick. You mess with Suzuki, you mess with Delrick. The two are inseparable."

  _"And cannon fodder."_ A voice snickered. Poe jumped, gasping a bit at the sudden feeling of hands on his shoulders. He looked back and saw nothing. However, someone's shadow had their hands on his own shadow. The shadow had two white half-circles and a crescent on its head, looking like a smirk. It cackled more, rising up from the floor with folded arms. As soon as the light hit it, however, the shadowiness cleared away from the figure, revealing a tanned boy with shaggy black hair and yellowish eyes in a brown trench coat. He looked odd, however, having a scorched, almost charred and burnt look to him.

  "Who-- _what_?" Edward stumbled backwards, looking at the boy. 

  "Are you _really_ confused at me appearing? In _this_ town? Geez, this is why I hate you outsiders so much. Drake Mevel. I've been dead for almost a century, buddy." A smug smirk settled on his face. "Why am I still here after so long? I live - er, death? - to make people scared. Mostly Catwoman Jr. over there. And this one kid that's an esper. Hate him. Stupid kid with a ponytail..." 

  The Seraph fluttered his wings with an annoyed frown. "Cut it out, Drake, he's new. Cut him some slack." 

  "How about you take those big wings of those, rip them off, and _shove 'em up your--"_

  Adair stood up, standing over the ghost with a piercing glare. "What have I told you about tormenting Midori, _you burnt slice of whole-wheat bread_?" The spirit grimaced, clenching his fists and about to strike back, but was interrupting by one of the half-insect's legs jabbing him in the chest. "I will lock you in the top of the lighthouse again, mark my ffff.... _ricking_ words."

  "You're not so threatening when you're incapable of swearing, Deldickhead." Drake smirked, spreading his arms out and falling backwards trust fall-style. Instead of hitting the ground, he turned back into a dark silhouette on the floor and vanished into a shadow. 

  Flicking her tail, Midori nervously spoke up. "My English is not very good, but you are not meant to like him, mister, I'm sorry, are you?"

  _"...ah, Midori, allow me to translate for you this time. You might confuse him."_ Adair murmured to her. The Nekomata nodded, whispering something in his ear. "Ah, she wants to know if you're mean like him."

  "Of course not." The raven on his shoulder nervously squawked, but nodded. 

  Milo stretched and put a hand on Edward's shoulder. "Let's continue our tour, alright?"

  A girl with long, white hair and heterochromatic eyes approached them, looking curious. Long horns extended from her head, and a long, slender tail with a spade on the end made her look like a cliche devil. Walking with her was a tall blond boy with blue eyes and a black suit on, fiddling around with an ace of spades card in one hand. "Ooh, hello! Are you new? I'm Lucille!" 

  "Yeah, this is Lucille. Nobody knows her last name, but she's a succubus. She never acts the same two days in a row, but usually sticks to a persona similar to one of the seven deadly sins." Milo explained, gesturing at the girl. "The boy is pretty cool. Thomas Slick. Magician."

  Thomas threw a card with a flick of the wrist, the spade whizzing over Poe's head and slicing through the hair on the top of his head. "Don' get m'wrong, m'magic's real. I usually jus' do card throwin', though. Card tricks, too. Mostly throwin'. I like it. Don' get m'pissed, I'll give ya that." 

  Sweating a bit, the two walked past. "My hair..." Poe rubbed the top of his head, flinching as a few sliced bits of white hair fell into his face. A warning bell came over the speakers. "...can we continue this tomorrow? I believe classes are beginning soon."

  "Yeah, yeah. _Oh, hey, Xander_!" He ran up to a blond-haired boy in glasses and beamed, looking over his shoulder. "Hey, Poe. This is Xander Tristain. The Esper Drake was talking about."

  As Poe quietly nodded, Xander looked over to him with a nervous look. "...I don't like him, Milo. I'm getting bad vibes from that kid. There's darkness in him..."

  "Eh? _Whatever_. Probably from Drake fucking with him, right? I'll see you guys later." The winged boy started running down the hall and went through a door into a large room, spreading his wings and leaping out of sight.

  "Darkness? Whatever it is, I'm preventing it from taking over, I assure you, Tristain." Riamh quietly chirped, preening herself. "I'm a spirit watching over him. A patron spirit, you could call me."

  "Ah, I see. I could tell, really. I can see things like that. Sometimes it... weirds me out." Adjusting his glasses, the esper turned around and briskly went into a classroom. It happened to be Edward's own class, so he went in as well.

  The first day went on smoothly, but Poe kept seeing Xander with friends, looking over at him and whispering things to the friends. What was with him? Like Milo said, it was probably nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's some of the main characters.
> 
> Poe's pretty obviously a bit of an Edgar Allan Poe tribute. His raven, Riamh, was originally named Nevermore.  
> Milo's a pretty old OC of mine. He originally was for this Maximum Ride RP I used to be in.   
> Drake's also known as The Shadow among some people. Him and Xander have a huge rivalry thanks to the story their concept came from.  
> Adair is canonically the real name of Remus Ignatios, if any of you read the Silenda thing.   
> Midori's a friend of mine's OC we associate with cats. And make jokes about how many times she's died in this RP she was in. Whoops.  
> Lucille's a friend of mine's OC as well. She originally had MPD, having seven personas based off the seven sins.  
> Thomas is based off of a somewhat old Dangan Ronpa OC. Whoops.   
> Xander might seem familiar to any of you that read that Silenda thing, as well. He was originally from the story that never was that Drake came from.


	2. A Day in the Limelight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who's this douchebag?

  Two figures moved down the hall quickly. One had small horns poking from his hair, a long tail similar to the one belonging to Lucille, and batlike wings coming from his back. He wore a mostly black outfit, including a black trench coat. Scarlet hair with black roots and pale cobalt eyes ringed with dark circles showing a lack of sleep completed his somewhat sinister look. The other was simply a shadow, hitching a ride in the other's shadow. Both were quietly snickering in a mischievous way as they zipped down the hall. 

  "Hey! Slow down, you're not supposed to run!" The redhead's path was blocked by a very tall boy with a single eye on his face. A mop of blond hair nearly hid the green eye from view, and god damn was that kid tan. He spread his arms out, aiming to grab the speeding imp. 

  "Like hell I will, Ass! I'm on a fuckin' mission, and that's to make the newbie's day as shitty as possible!" He dropped to the ground, skidding between the cyclops's legs. As soon as he cleared that obstacle, he spread out his wings, taking flight to go even faster. Target spotted. Drake moved on the floor towards Poe, who was walking away from them. Two shadowy hands moved out of the floor, grabbing his ankles and forcing him to stop. 

  "Wh--" He couldn't finish his statement due to a flying kick being sent into his back. The shadow let go of his ankles, and he fell, landing face-down on the floor. The sound of heels clicking on the tiled floor came closer with a foot being planted on the back of his head, grinding his face into the floor. "L-l'mm'p!!" Good job, Poe. You can speak 'muffled face squished on the floor noises'. 

  "Welcome to Willow Falls High, newbie." An unfamiliar voice snickered. The imp knelt down and grabbed a handful of the boy's pale hair, pulling up and making him look at him. "You're in luck, kid. Drake and I love fuckin' with the newbies." He stood back up and lodged one foot under Poe's shoulder, pushing on it and making him turn over. 

  He squinted and groaned. "Who..? Milo never warned me about a jerk who still thinks trench coats are cool." Poe tried to sit up, but got forced back down with a foot.

  "You really wanna go there, newbie? That Bible wannabe doesn't know shit." He rolled his eyes and backed off. "I'll let Drake fuck witcha more. If you really wanna know, it's Watson. Just Watson. Just don't call me that, though. Fuckin' hate my name. Wata's better. Drake thought of it." Wata popped the collar of his trenchcoat and began walking away. After smirking at Poe over his shoulder one last time, he spread his smallish wings and soared down the hall, twirling around in mid-air and laughing. Wow you nerd, way to leave in the most intimidating way possible.

* * *

 

  "Midori? Midori!" Adair ran through the halls, calling the Nekomata's name. "Where are you?" He sounded distraught. The two never were apart, and now she shows up missing after one of the insectoid centaur's classes. He could have sworn he just heard a shout from the gymnasium. Slowly, he moved into the room, looking around. Nowhere to be seen.

  Though, that muffled noise was awfully suspicious...

  A hiss came to his attention. _"Stop your whining, you stupid cat! You're givin' me away..."_ Adair looked up. That blasted imp was sitting up in the top of the rafters, holding Midori in his arms with his hand shoved over her mouth. 

  "You gave yourself away, Watson. Great job. Hand Midori over before I remove your esophagus from your body." A menacing glare was sent up at the young demon. 

  Wata snickered, dangling the cat girl over the edge of a rafter. "Ahah, alright, here you go!" He let go and roughly shoved her, causing her to fall.

  Adair managed to catch her and held her close, comfortingly murmuring to the crying girl while glaring daggers at Wata as he dived down from above, quickly moving out of the gym with a cackle. "I will get him back one day, I swear..."

* * *

 

  A boy with long red hair happily hummed, adjusting the blue and black headphones he always had on. He took off his sunglasses for a moment, revealing blue eyes underneath as he cleaned a smudge off the lens with the tip of his tie. "It's been surprisingly peaceful lately, Resa." The redhead mused to a taller, more muscular looking boy with shaggy blond hair and a large white jacket with flame designs on the sleeves. The two always called each other Raito and Resa, well, everyone did, really. Nobody knew their real names. 

  Resa shrugged, snapping his fingers a few times, watching the small flame that sparked as he did it. "I dunno. It's probably 'cause all the jerks focus on screwin' over the lives of the new people for a week or two. That one Poe kid got here, like... yesterday." 

  "Might as well look out for Drake, though. That ass always messes with everyone, even when there's newbi--" He froze and quietly yelped, ripping the headphones off. "Gah! He did it again!" Raito turned around and yelled. "Drake, leave my god damn headphones alone!" After adjusting the volume that had been turned up all the way, he put them back on, sparking a little in annoyance. 

  A shadow slipped away with a snicker. "Fine, fine, whatever!" Right as he said that, the lights in that section of the hall went out. 

  "...what the..?" Raito murmured. It sounded like he was humming, but it was static jumping all over him from uneasiness. Resa formed a small ball of fire in his hands and stood near the other, trying to use it so they could see.

  Something roughly shoved him from behind, causing him to fall and the flame to flicker out. Raito felt a feather drift into his face, a string attached to it. Before he could say anything else, something cold and darker even than the pitch black around the two slapped into them, oddly making them both black out. 

  Whoever that was, it wasn't Drake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There he is. Wata. That god damn asshole. You'll be seeing more of him later.   
> The cyclops guy is Assad, an OC that belongs to the same friend who owns Lucille.  
> Raito is my own OC, originally from DESPAIR.exe. Resa's my friend's OC, but is usually associated with Raito.
> 
> Gee, who is that mysterious shadow man.


	3. Nevermore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Man, Poe, you really let yourself go.

  "Where is he, where is he??" The raven frantically squawked, flying around.

  Milo spotted the bird and flew after her, looking confused. "Woah, where's the fire?" 

  Riamh settled down in the canopy of a large tree, waiting for the boy to catch up. After he landed, the bird sighed. "Hasn't Poe not... been himself ever since that one imp guy tried beating him up? He always gets like this when upset, but this is over the top..! What happened..?" 

  "Eh?"

  "It's nothing. Carry on, Travis."

* * *

   A girl wearing a hooded jacket, striped tee, and glasses walked down the hall. The hooves of her deerlike legs clicked loudly on the tiled floor. She took a large bite out of a fresh, red apple, looking around with gold eyes. Shortly cut, golden brown hair sat neatly on her head with tiny white horns poking out. Large ears that looked like they were taken from a young deer sat where normal ears were meant to be. "Vick, I still don't get how you can eat something knowing an animal was harmed to make it. That jerky you're eating has beef in it! Beef is from cows!"

  "Jeez, hold your horses, Sophie. This came from that nice place up the street from the town. They got a guy who can talk to animals, he gets consent from 'em." Katie had slightly tanned skin and dark brown eyes, matching her jet black hair that grew down to the bottom of her shoulder blades made into a delicate looking fishtail braid. A white hoodie with blue accents and an orange and cream scarf were settled comfortably on her body. Black fox ears were where normal ones should have been, and a black tail poked out from under the bottom of her hoodie. She shrugged and bit off a piece of jerky with her sharp teeth. 

  "And who are you two?" Oh. That new kid. Something about him seemed off today, though. The black in his roots had spread more, making his hair look about 1/4 black. That was odd. He lacked his glasses, and his pale eyes were completely white, faintly glowing with some odd blackish looking energy flowing from them. Other than that, he looked the same, besides the feather he normally had with him being gone. 

  "You really don't know everyone here yet? Jeez, for someone who talks so smart, you sure are dumb." Katie scoffed, folding her arms in front of her with a sly, sharp-toothed grin.

  The other girl sighed. "I am Sephrona Rogan, though I casually am called Sophie. My friend here is Katie Vick. I am a satyr, and she is a kitsune who prefers to assume the form of a human with foxlike qualities." She finished off her apple, core and all. "You are Edward Allens, unless I am incorrect."

  "So that's what they're calling me, now..? Hmph. I'll go with it." He uncharacteristically huffed, raising one clenched fist. The corners of his mouth twitched, trying to form into a sinister looking smile. "I gotta admit, Drake's idea of getting rid of that feather worked! Heheh... I should take this time to enjoy myself before that stupid raven comes back."

  Nervously shifting her weight between hooves, Sephrona whimpered. "E-er, are you... not... Allens, then?" Remaining silent, Poe unclenched his fist, holding it out towards the two. Darkness spread from his palm, swirling around the two and going into their eyes. "Wh--..." They stumbled, dizziness overcoming them in a sudden wave. 

* * *

 

  "Four students are missing, now? This is getting out of hand." A woman with long brown hair sat back in her chair, a hand on her forehead. "Are you sure these are all related to Mr. Allens?" She adjusted the small sign on her desk with her name on it, smoothing out the skirt of her suit. The small sign read 'M. ULRICH'. She had married a man with the name Delrick years before, but preferred to keep her maiden name since then. She was the staff member in charge of keeping track of students, as they often came up missing for some reason or another. 

  "Yes. I've heard reports of sections of the hall going dark prior to both occasions, and the living shadow form of Drake being encountered beforehand. I believe the spirit is assisting him. Or, manipulating him. Making him malevolent." The man standing before her muttered before walking out.

  "I see." She folded her hands on the desk in front of her, looking deep in thought. "I will get Adair to check things out." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was short, but I'm trying to get some sort of plot going here.
> 
> The concepts for Sephrona and Katie are from a friend of mine! Thanks, you hecking nerd.  
> Maxwell. The girl destined to die a horrible death in everything she's been shoved into. Remember that.


	4. A Guide on Fantastical Creatures and Dark Matter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Who writes this stuff? Jeez, must be some nerd with no life." The author says, slowly moving to stare into the camera.

  Adair scrounged through his room, looking for something to read. After a few moments of searching, his hand brushed on an old book he remembered his father had written. Smiling a little, he pulled it out and set it down, opening the pages and starting to look through it. 

* * *

**_A Guide on Fantastical Creatures and Dark Matter_ ~ Semur Delrick**

_Upon arriving in this odd town of Willow Falls, I was rather pleased to find out my son and I were not the only odd, inhuman creatures to have stumbled upon this settlement. Over the years, after our arrival, it had quickly flourished into being known as a haven for the supernatural. I have devoted my life to studying some of these beings, including my own species, as I have recently discovered that centaurs are in fact much more diverse than simply being partially insectoid. This is a log of my findings, although one bit of it is on a mysterious energy we seem to know everything and nothing about all at the same time._

**_Part I: Demons_ **

_Before arriving here, I had thought that demons were a universally hated specie of creatures. There are some rather passive specimens in this town, although others are quite malevolent. I have seen many of these mysterious beings with my own eyes. A lineage of succubi and incubi rumored to be descended from the fallen angel Lucifer himself reside here, for instance. Another family is a rather mischievous and spiteful group of imps._

_Section I: Succubi/Incubi_

_Succubi and Incubi are often associated with the deadly sin of Lust, but they are much more complex than that. Indeed, they often lean towards seduction as a tactic of claiming souls from the unlucky, but that is not their only priority. I have found the young Succubus known as Lucille as an interesting subject, never seeming to be the same each day. Most often her antics fall into the category of a personification of one of the seven deadly sins themselves. A young yet talented magician from a family that recently showed up in our humble home of Willow Falls appears to have been bewitched, despite being so young. It is a shame that a boy not even of ten years has already sold his soul to a demonic entity._

_Section II: Imps_

_Imps. You either adore them with all your heart from their almost lovably **imp** ish tactics or feel a burning hatred after even setting your eyes upon them once. One of the oldest families in the town is a clan of imps that tend to lean towards the negative side of the spectrum when it comes to other's opinions of them. Their family name is unknown to anyone as they have kept this information secret, but their youngest and newest member... where do I begin? In his earlier years he was rather sweet and kind for any breed of demon, but now it seems that the taint of dark matter has touched him, making him worse than every other imp residing here combined. I fear for his well-being. _

_Section III: Lesser Demons_

_Not many demons other than Succubi/Incubi and imps are seen in this humble town of ours, but they are not uncommon. They are easy to tell from other beings from their batlike wings and horns resting nestled in their hair; their long, slender tails tipped with bony spades and occasional pair of goatlike legs. Some are awfully nice, actually. I had tea with Lucifer, once. He's not that bad. Has a nice taste in music._

**_Part II: Heavenly Beings_ **

_Angels and angelic creatures are awfully common, here. Most actually hate the angels mentioned in the Bible. It's amazing how being mentioned in a book can inflate your ego so much._

_Section I: Seraphim_

_Seraphim are angels trained for eons to be guardians of the heavens, taking centuries to even gain a single pair of wings. I found out this bit of information upon having a friendly chat with the eternally young Milton Travis, who is a few years away from earning his second pair of wings. It's quite sad, really. A seraph who has made friends with a mortal will have to watch them grow old and wither away. I'm surprised that Milton isn't hiding himself from people from losing so many companions this way._

_Section II: Spirit Guides_

_Often, a spirit wishing to quell powerful evil inside of a being will take the form of two things: an item, and an animal. They guide this being into the path of good, giving them a new identity to use in case they are already infamous under their original name._

_**Part III: Dark Matter** _

_Yes, this is a bit short for a guide, isn't it? As of now, I do not have much information on anything in this town. But I have a lot of information on this mysterious energy we know as dark matter..._

_Section I: Manifestations_

_Sub-Section I: Spirits_

_Often, the matter has been shown to be somewhat sentient. When a spirit becomes too malevolent via wanting revenge for their death, they may become a host for dark matter. Ghosts under the influence of this energy show the ability to manifest themselves as a living shadow. Allowing a spirit that has been consumed by dark matter is highly dangerous, as it is able to destroy your body from the inside._

_Sub-Section II: Other Creatures and Beings_

_As I mentioned earlier, a young imp has recently been tainted by dark matter, becoming highly malevolent and has even attempted (and succeeded, on occasions) murder. We have also been warned about someone named Enoch, a human who can control this as well as a pyromancer can manipulate flames._

_Section II: Effects_

_Effects of dark matter begin at even touching it once. It drains on your mental state, making your personality drastically change depending on the amount of exposure. One thing we have noticed is that subjects exposed to the energy become more manic and aggressive. Some may experience hallucinations of both the visual and auditory types, or hear voices whispering to them ominously. If someone who was already mentally unsound is exposed to it, they have a very high chance of being unable to take it and attempt suicide._

* * *

   "...not as good as I remember. The dark part always makes me... uncomfortable." The half insect frowned and replaced the book in the shelf. 

* * *

  "Shoo, you dumb pixies!" A boy snapped, waving a thin leg on his back at a fairy hovering nearby. He heavily sighed, running his pale fingers through his hair. This was Ryan Taylor, who was half spider. Black widow, to be precise. He had his brown hair styled into an undercut, the thicker part on his head being dyed a dark pumpkin orange color. His eyes looked a bit eerie, being gold with the scleras being black. What appeared to be three small, gold, gemlike things in a line above each eye brow were actually more eyes. A red pinstriped dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows covered his pale skin; a deep brown vest sat with the buttons fastened shut over the shirt, and a black tie adjusted appropriately into a trinity knot sat between the collar of the shirt and fabric of the vest. Black slacks and leather shoes completed his formal appearance. His mouth had tiny fangs in it, and there were two pairs of long, thin, black spider-like legs extending from just below his shoulder blades. The red marking like two triangles vertically stacked with their top corners touching - the telltale marking of a black widow spider - would be visible on his back if he had it exposed. "I'm trying to work, here!" 

  The two faes giggled, drifting around the arachnid boy's head. "Ehehe, no way! We know how you just _adore_ us fairies, hehe!" This one was the larger of the two, having a mop of wavy greenish hair, fading into yellow at the tip of each lock. She had wide blue eyes and freckles on her cheeks, with large, pointed ears. Her outfit looked like a simple tube top and skirt, made out of a large leaf curled around her body. Her feet were bare, and wings similar to a Luna moth fluttered on her back. "Isn't that right, Sylv?"

  "Ehehee, yeah, Ninf!" The other fairy had long red hair that faded into orange, matching gold eyes on her face. Her ears were a bit shorter than Ninf's, and she had the same type of outfit on but with autumn leaves colored like flames. Monarch butterfly wings flapped softly behind her. Giggling madly, Ninf and Sylv spiraled around Ryan's head one more time before fluttering out of the room. 

  "Ech, I abhor those winged fiends..." He re-threaded the needle he held and continued sewing. Okay, Ryan, I see how you like making clothes, but using your own spider silk is kind of gross. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we have Ryan Taylor, inspired by an old OC of mine named Ryuka Tokoba who liked to make clothes.  
> Ninf and Sylv's names are references to something. Figure it out.  
> Semur is Remus backwards. No surprise in that. //stabbed


	5. Lost and Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where'd those guys go, anyway?

  "Hey, have any of you seen Sepharose around, lately?" The arachnid hybrid approached a small group of people, looking concerned. "She commissioned me a scarf. I just finished it, but she's been missing for a couple days, hasn't she?" 

  Milo perked up, fluttering his wings a little and tilting his head. "Mm... no. Speaking of, Katie's been gone, too." He shrugged and adjusted the sides of his jacket. "Thunder and Lightning's been gone, too."

  "...who?" Poe looked over at Milo, looking confused. "Did their parents hate them enough to name them after nouns or something?"

  The seraph looked even more bewildered at Edward's behavior, but shook it off. "You didn't know? You know Raito and Resa, right? Nobody knows their real names, just the nicknames they use?"

  "...oh. So you call those two imbeciles that? Fitting, both them and what their nicknames name them after are bound to fade away at some point." A smug smile made its way onto the pale-haired boy's face, accompanied by crossed arms. Everyone else stared at him like he grew a second head right before their eyes. "...what?"

  Heavily sighing after sending a stone-cold look at Poe, Milo turned around. "It's nothing. You're just acting weird." He walked away with a tense, brisk pace.

  Wata stood there for a moment, then broke into a grin with a quiet chuckle. "Yeah, weird. I like it. Heheh, you just need to help me out in fuckin' up someone's day one time, then I'll be cool with you." He leaned forward, then jumped backwards into a back flip, unfolding his wings and twisting around in mid-air and soaring away. 

  "...show-off." Thomas muttered. "I don' ev'know who y'are, kid, s'I could care less. C'mon, Luci." He gently elbowed the succubus standing next to him, rolling his eyes at Poe. 

  "Hey hey _heeeey_ , I'm the one who owns _you_ , not the other way around! So _you_ come on!" Lucille giggled, grabbing his arm roughly and dragging him away.

  Ryan groaned and placed the index finger and thumb of one hand on the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. "...why did I even bother with this rut of hooligans? It brings me physical pain to even look at the sorry excuses for outfits most of them wear." A sharp-toothed grimace came on his face as he walked forward, roughly shoving past Edward. 

  A sharp glare was sent Ryan's way. Oddly, Poe's eyes seemed to almost glow white for a second. "...you're _lucky_ to not be the one I have my eyes on, you cobweb-coated piece of--"

  " _Got your eyes on?_ I am not into men, sir."

  "...I didn't mean it like that. Maybe if you were as smart as you try to _sound_ you'd know that!" He scoffed with a smirk, quickly going down the hall. A pair of half-circles and a crescent shined white in his shadow. 

  Ryan rolled his eyes, glancing at the shadow then walking back to the room he always holed himself up in. _"Ech, just that annoying spirit causing trouble again, it seems..."_

* * *

 

  Adair and Midori sat together against a tree in the courtyard of the school, eating lunch. The half-insect was settled down in the grass, with the Nekomata sitting on top of him and her back against his. Well, Midori was eating lunch. Adair tended to not eat at all. "I am beginning to be concerned for your safety around this... Allens boy, Midori. He is beginning to act no better than Watson and Pevel." He craned his neck to look at the girl over his shoulder. 

  "I ruike Poe, though. He's my fruiend." The girl slowly mused with her odd accent after taking a bite out of a sandwich, messing with her soft cat tail with one hand. "He doesn't seem that mean to me." Finishing off the sandwich, she turned around and stood up, putting her hands on Adair's shoulders and leaning down to look at his face. "Arue you _surue_ he's being ruike Wata and Druake?" 

  "Yes, Midori. I am." He stood up and starting moving towards the door to go inside, faintly hearing a bell. "He is dangerous. Avoid him if I'm not around, please?"

  "Mm..." She sat back down, giggling as he started moving. "Aruruight, I will, _I will!_ Truust me, big bruother!" When they got inside, the lights began flickering.

  Adair was somewhat unnerved by this. "...just... just a faulty light, I hope. You're not scared either, are you?" He looked back at Midori and jolted. She was gone. The faint sound of flapping wings was audible. "...Watson, this is your final warning. I can and _will_ impale you with a leg if you don't hand her over. _Now._ "

  The imp flew into sight, empty-handed. "I dunno what you're talkin' about, Bugsy. I ain't the one who took her-for _once_." Cackling, he darted out of sight before the other could snatch him. 

  "...he is a liar and a thief." Adair hissed, quickly moving after him. "Give her _back_ , you son of a--" A hand shot out from inside his shadow, grabbing one of his legs and making him fall over. He quickly lost sight of the young demon and shakily got up. It was always annoying getting up after falling, since six big bug legs are kind of hard to control at times. Panic came over him. "Where... where is she? _Where is she?! WHERE THE **FUCK** IS SHE?!_ " He wildly looked around, trying to catch a glimpse of the young Nekomata. Nothing. Mind you, this guy only swears when royally pissed. 

* * *

 

  Midori whimpered, looking around and trembling. She was afraid of the dark. The room she was in didn't feel much like a room. It felt like an endless void, almost, with just a vague feeling of something beneath her feet. She could still see in this vast darkness, however, despite there being no visible sources of light to illuminate anything. All she saw as of now was the empty, dark void, and her own body. "Big bruother..? Wh-wherue did you go..? I-I'm scarued..." 

  A familiar voice became audible, the tone being a tauntingly antagonistic one accompanied by snickering. "Oh, are you looking for your _pwecious big bwother?_ " The voice seemed to be all around her, everywhere yet nowhere at once. "Drake was right... you really _are_ spineless. Good thing you'll be stuck here forever, never to see your _pweeecious big bwooother_ anymore, right? Heheh."

  The Nekomata shivered, looking around with wide, terrified eyes. Someone stepped out of the darkness with a smirk on his face. 

  "P-P..."

  Was this really him? It had to be fake. Just a dream.

_"P...Poe..?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm basing Midori's little accent on actual Japanese pronunciations since she natively speaks Japanese, so if it seems like the racist stereotype, it's not! L and R in Japanese are simply pronounced somewhat like 'ru'.


	6. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where have those guys been?

  Raito opened his eyes. He was still in the unending, infinite darkness. Wait, who was that over there?

  "Resa?"

  He squinted, trying to see if it was really him. "Resa!" A smile spread across his face. He wasn't alone for once! The young DJ beamed, running through the dark over to him. Resa was standing still. Completely still. His eyes were hidden by his hair, but he was still there. Just as he tried to hug him, the other teen slumped over, roughly falling onto him. "Resa..?" Horror came over him. Oh, god, this wasn't another one of those nightmares he seemed to never be able to wake from, was it? He gently moved backwards, letting the blond move to the ground. Shaking, he knelt down, looking at him and rolling him over. Blood seeped from his mouth and nose, a ragged hole visible on his chest. "N...no... no... n-not again..! Wake up..! Wake up, i-it's... _it's just a dream..!!"_

  The other never woke up. Raito broke down, sobbing into his chest, holding one of his arms close. "P-please, Resa, th-this isn't funny anymore..." 

  "Oh, it's always been funny,  _'Lightning'!_ " Oh. Him. Narrowing his eyes into a glare, he looked up at the white-haired teenager wildly smirking a few feet away. "You think this'll end any time soon? Ha! It won't." Raito got up and threw a punch sparking wildly with static at the boy, but he moved away long before he was even standing. "You're pathetic." His vision started to get blurry and shift. No, not again! Not another- too late. His eyelids drooped, and he fell over, thrown into another heartbreaking nightmare.

* * *

  Midori looked around, terrified. So many bad dreams... would they ever end? She looked over his shoulder. Adair! There he was, to save her! "Big bruother!! You'rue herue! I-I was so scarued..." The Nekomata ran over to him, jumping up and hugging him tightly. Why wasn't he hugging her back, like he usually did? Midori looked up at him. "Wh..." An eerie smirk sat on his face. Then, he finally embraced her. It wasn't right, however. It felt as if there were a dozen sharp claws buried in her back. Crying out, she managed to escape his arms and stumbled backwards, looking up at the centaur-like teenager with a face painted with terror. His fingers looked more like claws, and his grin was one full of sharp fangs.

  "Why are you crying, Midori? Don't you want to be with your big brother?" With speed unnatural for even him he lunged forward, snatching the girl up and digging talons into her arms. "Of course you do, don't even lie!" Crazed laughter accompanied his statement. Futile struggling and sobbing was ignored completely as the young girl was practically torn apart.

  Then she woke up. She curled into a small ball on the vague sensation of the ground in the endless, deep void. Opening one eye, she froze. Adair was standing nearby.

* * *

  Sephrona blankly stared ahead, sitting next to Katie in the darkness. Unlike the others, the two shared the same nightmare, repeating over and over again. It was really getting old. Predictable. An illusion to one of the other being killed. The methods became more and more gruesome, but it eventually became dull and maddeningly boring, even when it became extremely violent and bloody. "Just let us out already."

  "No."

  Angered fox and deer noises.

* * *

 

  "Raito. C'mon, don't fuck with me, man." Resa put both hands firmly on the ginger's shoulders, looking at him. "Stop the shit. Yer not being yourself." It kind of hurt, hearing what Raito was saying to his face. Did he really think of him like this? It was just a dream, right?

  The young DJ roughly shoved him away, glaring at him. "Get away from me, you jerk! Not being myself? You acting like you care isn't being yourself! You're a selfish asshole who could care less about anyone, all you care about is racing and showing off your stupid fire powers!" 

  "C-c'mon, dude-bro, that's harsh..." Why was he getting so upset over this? Normally he'd just punch whoever was talking down on him in the face, was it just different when it was Raito doing it? Annoyed, he kept a straight face and clenched his fists. "Cut the shit."

  The insults and criticizing became harsher and harsher, until Resa couldn't take it anymore. His anger sometimes seemed to get the better of him. Obviously, since he just slammed a blazing fist into his best friend's face. Raito fell to the ground, sobbing. That was 100% unlike Raito, but god damn, he just made his friend cry, what the fuck is wrong with you Resa. "Gh... s-see..? Y-you're an a-asshole... i-it huuurts..."

  Looking concerned, Resa knelt down by him. "Raito, I'm sorry, alright?" He sighed, patting his head. The other literally _screeched_ in pain. Dear god, where did all that blood come from?! "Raito, Raito, c'mon, snap out of it, stop the fuckin' bleeding..!" He kept getting increasingly distressed. Then, Raito went limp. "No, no, no, wake up, wake up, dammit! You can't be dead, you little shit..!" Too late. He was gone. Woah there, Resa, tough guys don't cry.

  Okay, maybe they do.

  Sweet dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short chapter but it's just letting you know that the missing people aren't exactly in a good place right now


	7. Freedom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being so slow! Writer's block. Have an extra detailed chapter as an apology.

  Dappled, rosy light filtered through puffy marshmallow clouds hanging in the sky, shining down on the hills and valleys surrounding the humble town. The air was still, the fresh, crisp scent of aged, flame-coated leaves hinting at the first stirrings of Autumn. A flap of large, milky white wings disturbed this peacefulness, accompanying a large figure silhouetted against the rising sun. It rose higher and higher, each push of powerful feathers forcing air down to let the Seraph rise with a smooth swiftness. He spread his long, slender arms out, rolling in the warm updrafts with an exhilarated laugh. With a determined smile, he rose higher, bursting through the side of a mass of white, condensed water, planting his feet on the solid ground disguised by the massive cumulus cloud. This place was his home, where heavenly beings found sanctuary, hidden away from mortal eyes.

  Two fall figures stood before him, donned in robes as pure white as their three pairs of massive wings and expressionless faces. One was a bit short compared to the other, having pale, freckled skin and black hair graying at the roots, strong muscles packed firmly on his body, creases and contours carved out of his figure like chiseled stone. The other was much taller, having at least a foot on the other and skin the color of dark chocolate. Her body was a bit plumper, every curve easily known on her if you looked at her from head to toe, with thick red hair rolling over her shoulders like a stream of hot magma. 

  The shorter one spoke with a rough voice, sounding like one would sound with a throat sore from loud yelling. "We have been watching over you, young Coronus."

  "It's Milton Travis, currently." Milo added meekly, his voice wavering under the fierce glare that had materialized on the taller woman's face. "...sorry. Just-just saying."

  "Anyway," the taller woman began, "we have deemed you worthy of earning your second pair of wings, young... Travis, was it? Yes, Travis. Feel honored at this fact, little one. Few as young as you have managed to get this far in training so quickly."

  Milo's green eyes shone like expertly cut emeralds, full of awe and excitement. "R...really? I-it's an honor!" He vibrated eagerly as he slipped his jacket and shirt off, craning his neck to watch as small embers budded on his back below his first pair of wings. They grew, blossoming like hot, fiery roses, expanding out into a winglike form. After growing to the same shape and size as the pearly wings above them, the flames moved back, revealing an identical pair of wings. "Th-thank you!"

  The man's voice grew quiet and sullen. "One final notice. We have deemed Willow Falls as too dangerous for you to stay in. You will be reloca--"

  Before he could finish speaking, Milo backed away, spreading his wings awkwardly, not used to having a second pair yet. "No. No. I'm not leaving. I love it here!"

  "Are you disobeying us?"

  "Yeah!" He spread his arms out, beginning to tip backwards over the edge of the land in the sky. "I'm sick of following your rules! I don't care if I never get my third pair of wings, I'm out of here! I wanna be free! Free! _You hear me?!"_

  Without another word, he fell backwards, tucking his wings close and diving down to the land below.

* * *

  Three figures stood in a group just outside of the rear entrance of Willow Falls, all varying in height, standing between the rear gates and the entrance of the forest. This forest they came from was forbidden for anyone in the small town to enter, due to the dangerous inhabitants of it. One of the three kicked at the rotting wooden sign planted loosely in the ground, reading **_Tanglewood Forest: Do not enter!!_**

  Like the group of werewolves about to bust into the town.

  The tallest of the three was Fenrir Lupais. He had brown hair gelled to be spiked in the front and ears like they were ripped off of a wolf and put onto him perked up at each side of his head. A small golden hoop earring hung from the lobe of the right ear. Cold, gray eyes were set in his face on each side of a somewhat large, pointy nose. His jawline was covered with a somewhat thick layer of stubble, a sharp-toothed grin set above it. A wrinkled red dress shirt with small frays and dirt stains covered his torso, a surprisingly clean black leather jacket worn above it. A long tail similar to a wolf's like his ears slowly swayed back and forth behind him. Coughing quietly, he raised a lit cigarette held between his middle and index fingers to his mouth, taking a drag and moving his hand away, opening his mouth and breathing out a puff of smoke. His was the image of a wannabe greaser, like the stereotype from the 1950's.

  The shortest was Gnoll Deutscher, a dwarfish boy with a chubby body connected to short limbs. A mop of fluffy ginger hair sat on his round head with small, round ears poking out, always laying slack on either side of his head, even when alarmed. Freckles covered every visible bit of his skin, circling around his wide, brown eyes, stubby nose, and small mouth. A single canine was always poking out of the side from how he had his lips set when not talking or using his mouth. His small hands sat comfortably inside the pockets of a large gray hoodie, which was a bit oversized, the bottom of it hanging almost halfway down his thighs. A fluffy, short tail with long fur on it wagged idly behind him.

  With a height just between the two others, Yven Lycaon stood. She had a slender, yet muscular build with skin the color of rich caramel, short black hair streaked with blonde and brown styled into a pixie cut on her head. Folded black ears accompanied her hair, the same color as her dark brown, almost black eyes. A torn white tank top sat loosely on her torso on top of a long sleeved blue shirt with the sleeves folded up to her elbows, matching the color of short denim shorts and blue boots. The winged eyeliner around her black eyes looked so sharp she could kill a man with it. A short, black tail stayed completely still behind her. A black choker with shiny spikes sat around her neck, and she was practically covered with piercings.

  "So. We goin' in? We oughta teach dose traitors a lesson, amirite, boss?" Yven growled with an eager, smug smirk, cracking her tense, scab-covered knuckles in anticipation. "We oughta do it. Dey deserve it, amirite, Schnoz?" She jerked her head over to look at the short werewolf.

  Gnoll yawned, sleepily leaning forward, then jolting back up. "Ah, ah!! Yeah, yeah, what you just said just now!" His eyelids hung over his eyes like broken window blinds, slowly closing over the brown pools. He jolted up once more, standing erect. "Yessir..!!"

  With a violent fit of hacking, Fenrir beat his chest a little. "Mhm. We just gotta-" He approached the gate, then drew one leg back, powerfully kicking the lock. The gate shook with a creaky rattle, but the lock stayed strong. "C'mon, help a brother out, Yven."

  "Ya gotta quit smokin', boss. It ain't good fer ya. Amirite?" She shook her head and pulled one leg behind her with a hand. stretching and loosening it out for a moment, then winding back at the same time as the taller male, both sending their feet surging forward with a wild fit of strength. After a few bouts of lashing, the lock broke, and they were in.

  Fenrir grinned wildly, looking around and cracking the joints in his stiff fingers one by one. He dropped the lit cigarette to the ground and crushed it with his foot. 

  "C'mon, let's raise hell."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was short, but I'm currently fighting a bad case of writer's block, so


	8. Light and Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we go.

  Exactly one week had passed since Midori was added onto the small list of missing people. No one had any idea what happened to them, where they were, who took them, why this was happening. Their only suspicions were on Watson, who was known to mess with at least Midori and steal her away from Adair for fun, and Drake, who could have possessed each person, taken them to where they were hidden, and left. On this day, a shocking revelation came up.

  "Hello, everyone." The voice coming from the speakers in the school was not one from someone supposed to be speaking over them. It was young and smug sounding, a hint of an antagonistic tone hidden in the sound waves. "I bet you're all wondering where I took them all, huh?"

  Everyone had been sitting in the library, talking casually as usual before classes begun. This came to a screeching halt with the odd announcement. "...is that..?" Milo murmured, ruffling his feathers a bit as a nervous tic. He fidgeted with the sides of his jacket, uneasily looking at a nearby speaker. "No, no, it can't be, Poe's just been moody lately..." 

  "Mm... I don't have the best feeling about what Allens is about to say, then." Adair quietly muttered, glancing around, unable to keep still. Ever since the young Nekomata had gone missing, Adair had been unlike himself in the sense that he's been more insecure than usual, more likely to lash out at another when angry. "He-he better tell where Midori is, however..."

  The familiar, ominous snicker Poe had adopted came over the intercom with what he was saying next. "If you really want Raito, Resa, Sephrona, Katie, and Midori back, you better haul ass to the office!" A faint yelp was heard layered behind his voice. Someone was in there with him. As soon as the words Edward said left the speakers, a handful of the people in the library stood up.

  "I'm going." The insectoid centaur looked serious, a new flame made of hope and fury igniting in his expression. He began to angrily storm out of the room, heading for the door. "If any of you wish to accompany me, please do." As a few more people walked behind him, he curtly nodded at each of them. Milo was coming because he just wanted the Poe he met back. Wata casually strolled after with Drake staying inside the imp's shadow simply because he wanted to see whatever action would be brewed by the future encounter. Ryan just wanted to get as far away from those  _god damn fairies_ as possible, and groaned when he glanced over his shoulder to see the two pixies giggling and fluttering after him. A newer person eagerly hopped behind them.

  "...who the fuck're you?" Wata side-eyed the newcomer with a dull tone. 

  "Oh? Me? I'm Ventrigo, but you can call me Ven!!" The person looked more like an anthropomorphic cockatrice than anything else. Her head looked like a normal bird's, bluish white with a darker plume of feathers cresting off the back of her head. A shiny pair of sunglasses masked her eyes, and that was a good thing; eye contact with a cockatrice meant you'd be turned into stone in a short yet very painful process. Her arms and legs looked like featherless bird legs, the hands on her arms looking more of a cross between a bird's foot and human hand. Small blue wings just large enough to carry her body were curled up behind her above a long, scaly tail lined with a ridge of blue feathers. A white tank top and basketball shorts made her look more sporty than intimidating like her species was meant to be. "Can I come? I don't know any of you, but I wanna help!! I can totally turn the jerk messing with you guys into stone!"

  The imp shrugged and went ahead. "Alright, fine." As soon as the loud, squeaky squall of the door being opened was heard, everyone rushed out. Milo, Wata, and Ven flew ahead to get there quickly as the rest of the group tagged along behind. 

  "Hey, hey. I think I know how to deal with this problem." A blond-haired teen in glasses and a red vest stepped in front of Ryan, the fairies, and Adair. "I'm an esper, you know. I can tap into whoever's doing this's thoughts and figure out what he's trying."

  Adair nodded. "Hurry up, then, Tristain. We don't have all day." 

  When the larger of the two groups arrived in the office, Ven and Milo panicked at the fact the principal, Maxwell, was now turned into stone.

* * *

 

  "Here's da plan. We pick off all da old hags in deir homes since only da old people ain't at dat school, staff or student or whatever, and den we hit da school itself." Yven eagerly yipped, ripping up a few mounds of grass to distract herself.

  "That's a pretty good idea, actually. Let's do i-- Gnoll. Wake your lazy ass up." Fenrir snapped, hitting the dozing boy across the head. The other stood erect, muttering a quiet 'I'm awake!' as they stalked deeper into the town.

  "Say goodbye to yer parents, ya fuckin' traitors ta Tanglewood!"

* * *

 

  "Oh my god, what happened?!" Xander cried, looking down at the petrified woman.  _"Ven, what did you do?!"_

  "Huuhh?" Milo looked at the esper, tilting his head in dull confusion. "You know her?" He ruffled his wings, folding his arms. "She freaked out and thought Maxwell was a threat. Raised her shades, got eye contact... ol' Max didn't last five seconds." 

  Adair gasped. That was his mother. His mother. He trembled, his face growing red as tears budded in the corners of his eyes. "M...mother?" He whirled on the cockatrice, tense with his teeth clenched and bared.  _"You!"_

  "Hahah, cool it, Delrick. You'll be joining her soon. Her as in Midori, not the useless slab of limestone you're mourning." Eight pairs of eyes turned to see Poe, standing there and grinning wildly. His glasses were being held tightly in one hand, his eyes looking pure white with some dark energy coming off them like smoke. The weirdest thing was that the usual black roots over his left eye had spread to cover all of his hairline. Overall, he looked quite a bit different than usual.

  "What are you doin' to everyone, huh, Poe?!" Wata snapped. "This is low even in my standards!" Before anyone else could speak, the room started to grow dark.

  Very dark. 

  "It's too bad you all found me out. I'll have to get rid of you all." 


	9. Into the Void

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A world of darkness surrounded them all...

  One by one, each person awoke. It was a surprisingly large group of people brought together in this void, really. All five missing people stood with the others.

  "M...Midori!" Adair gasped, rushing over to her and sweeping her into his arms, hugging her right. "N-never leave me again, you hear me?" The two shuddered, quietly heaving sobs into each other's arms. He had no idea that she was sobbing out of fear of her own brother due to nightmares.

  Raito practically leapt into Resa's arms, whimpering and whispering that he'd never let him get hurt again. Resa, on the other hand, silently vowed to keep his anger in check when around the aspiring DJ. Small sparks buzzed around the ginger, mingling with tiny embers floating off of the blond.

   Katie and Sophie were blank-faced and sat away from everyone else, emotionless.

  "Poe! Where the hell are you?!" Watson screeched into the darkness. "Let me out, da--"

  Milo glared at the demon. "Us." 

  "Right, right. Let US out, you asshole! Poe! _Edward fuckin' Allens!_ "

  The pale-haired teen appeared before them, laughing. "That's not my real name, you know."

  Everyone looked at him, confused. That wasn't his real name? Nobody asked what it really was, and simply watched. Watched as he stood there, smirking, judging them with a grin. 

  "Ever heard of Enoch? That stupid bird and her feather, she was able to keep me under wraps for a while. But it didn't work for long! The one who let me gain control over this 'dark matter' stuff and got rid of that pesky feather is with you, right now."

  Suspicious looks were mostly directed at Watson, who held his arms up and leaned back slightly. "Dude, it wasn't me." He turned his head and narrowed his eyes at Milo. "It could've been you, being around him so much."

 _"Actually,"_ The voice sounded like an echo, muffled and coming from near Watson's feet. No. It wasn't..?  _"it was me."_ Drake popped out of the imp's shadow with a smirk and folded arms. "Long time no see, Enoch. Eheh." The other nodded. "I decided to spruce things up around here! After all, what's a town like this for without any action making things fun?" 

  "This is fucked up, Drake." Wata hissed, elbowing him in the gut. His elbow simply passed through. "...damn ghosts and their un...solid...ness." 

  Enoch raised up a hand with what appeared to be black flames flowing around it. "Let's finish this. You're all too useless to this town, anyw--"

  He was interrupted by a gate opening behind him, with three werewolves flying out of it and crashing on top of him. "Dammit, Fen! I told ya this wasn' the place! It's all dark!" 

  "At least there's asses to kick here! Stop whining, Yven!" 

  The three half-dogs stood up, brushing themselves off and kicking the squirming Enoch aside. "Woah! Dogs? I like dogs! Do you like dogs? I love, love, love dogs!" Ventrico hopped up, flittering around the werewolves with excited squawking. 

  "The term," Fenrir snarled and clenched one fist, landing it firmly in the chest of the cockatrice and making her fall out of the air, "is  _werewolf--"_ Him and the two others suddenly collapsed, writhing in pain.

  "Oh, god damn, it's a full moon?!" Gnoll cried, wide awake for once. He slowly got smaller and smaller. A Pomeranian yipped and crawled out of his jacket. 

  Milo squealed and picked up Gnoll, petting him. "Oh my god, he turned into a cute little pu-- ow, he bit me!" He waved his arm around, trying to shake off the tiny dog hanging from his sleeve by the jaws. 

  A small, black terrier growled and barked at Enoch as he stood up. 

  Everyone stopped and stared at the very threatening, actual wolf approaching Midori.

  "Hey! The little kid's my kill, you mangy little..!" Enoch screeched as he tossed black energy at the canid. It caught in his fur and spread like fire, but there was one thing off about it.

  It was eating away at his fur and flesh, making him whine and look like he was stricken with some horrible, fast-acting case of necrosis. The dealer of this attack only smirked, kneeling next to the writhing wolf, placing his hand on his side, making more of the matter spread and eat away at him more. Barking in a distressed manner, Gnoll and Yven tried to bite the back of Enoch's shirt and pull him away, but failed to make him budge. Dozens of eyes watched in horror as the wolf practically dissolved into a gross looking black liquid after the dark matter did its work. Midori backed away, shakily beginning to cry and clinging to one of Adair's legs. 

  Enoch stood up, extending his arms out and smirking. "So. Who's next?" He was responded to by a mixture of flames and electricity making contact with his back. Glaring over his shoulder, he saw Raito and Resa a few feet away. "You ready to die, you idiots?"

  "Not exactly." They jumped back when he tried to swipe at him, with Resa throwing fire at him. After a while, Raito managed to sneak away.

  A taunting smirk came from Enoch. "Huh. Where did your little boy toy go, huh, Thunder?"

  "Right here." Raito grabbed his neck and sent electricity into it.

  After a while of high voltage neck grabbing, Enoch slumped over and fell to the ground in the darkness.

  "Oh my god..." Milo walked up to him. This person used to be a friend of his.

_"...is he dead..?"_

**_End of Part One : The Boy With the Raven_ **


	10. Serenity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's never too soon for a change of pace.
> 
>  
> 
> Part Two : New Faces

  A whole year had come and gone since that incident. There was a new principal, some new teachers. Willow Falls wasn't the type of town with a school that went by grades, in a way. You could stay as long as you wanted without your classes changing a bit. However, a handful of newbies had all come on the same day, the first of the year. Milo, curious as he was, had scoped them out and followed them around for a bit to find out some about them.

  It was roughly a group of four teenagers, all unique in their own way. Each seemed highly curious about their surroundings, yet at least one of them seemed lost despite following the group. Since it was before classes began, they wandered the halls, chatting idly.

  The first of the four was a girl. She was tall and built in a bit of a bulky, yet also somewhat slender way, with golden brown hair - it was obviously dyed, as a big portion of the roots of her hair showed a darker brown tinge - and narrow, almond-shaped eyes of the same color. Her demeanor was calm and cool, each stride she took being short, yet still enough for her to keep up with the other three with her long legs. A delicate and elegant looking green dress draped over her body, in a gradient from a paler mint color, to deep green, to the same color as her hair. White, flowery designs were set on top of the colors in spiraling patterns. A vibrantly pink rose sat behind one ear, holding some of her long hair out of her olive-skinned face. 

  "You should lighten up, Calor. Be glad we're somewhere new for once."

  "Egh. Whatever, Dent. You're always so calm, I can't figure out why! Life here sucks already." 

  The second was taller than the first and lithe, a boy. His hair was a fiery red, styled into a faux hawk dip-dyed in gold. Amber-looking brown eyes sat on a bronze face with black and yellow spots like markings on some lizard tattooed onto his exposed arms and cheeks. A black tank top with a flame design hung on his slender torso with gray and black basketball shorts. He looked pretty muscular for his body type and had a few burns crossing his skin. Lines in his face were forever creased from a permanent scowl on his face, matching his moody and argumentative disposition. 

  "I agree. Freedom is great! Being confined in a small town, inside of a building where you can't even catch the feeling of a breeze? Not so much." 

  "See? Rano gets it."

  The girl who added onto Calor's sullen muttering was short and pale-skinned, with short and curly black hair streaked with silver and white nestled on top of her round head. Her voice had a permanently breathy sounding tone, coming from a small mouth with pale lips on an equally pale face. She smiled up at the grumpy teen with wide, gray eyes, adjusting the windbreaker she wore and zipping it up all the way. Baggy pants and tennis shoes made her - along with the rest of her appearance - appear laid back and carefree, not a single negative thing on her mind besides what she just said.

  "Do you get what I mean, too, Mari?"

  "Huh?"

  A sleepy looking boy perked up, unsettling a mess of golden hair on his head. One blue-green eye over freckled, tanned skin opened slightly, looking over at Rano. He wore a blue-accented but mostly black wetsuit with a bubbly mix of green and white inside the blue, and a white bubble type vest on top of it. Casual looking flip flops were all he had on his feet. Mari was slouched a bit, half-asleep. 

  "Mmh, 's too dry in here..."

  "Oh, hey!" Milo finally worked up the courage to approach the group. "Who're you guys? Never seen you before. Got anything special about you all?"

  Dent smiled. "Ah, yes. Milton Travis, lesser known as Coronus and nicknamed commonly as 'Milo'. The rogue seraph, fallen angel... there are many monikers for you, my friend. I am Dent Arborus, of the earth. You may see me as a simple human being that is below you, but I am more than that. I am one of the most mighty of all earth elementals, angelic one. I am a dryad--"

  "Dryad, shmayad. Stop with your fancy-shmancy drabbling every time you meet another mythological being, will you, man?" Calor hissed. "The name's Calor Devitiis. Fire elemental of the salamander type."

  The four-winged teen snickered. "A lizard? Man, that's pretty-" He froze as Calor hissed again, snarling. His hair burst into a glowing blaze as his head changed, the skin cracking and blackening as hot magma-looking stuff leaked from the openings, ablaze. After a moment, his head looked like a fierce lizard's, with a black tongue flicking from his mouth. "-haha, what? Cool, I meant... I meant cool." With a satisfied smirk, the salamander changed his head back to how it previously was. 

  "Me next, alright?" Milo glanced at the shorter girl. "Rano Caelistis. I'm a nymph. Air elemental. That's it. Maaariiii!" She childishly giggled, nudging the dozing Mari.

  He jolted up, both eyes shooting open. "A-ah! I apologize! I am usually more awake when there's more water around. Mari Thalassa, I'm a naiad. Freshwater nymph."

  "So, why is a group like you sticking together? I mean, you all can seriously harm at least one other person in your group by mistake, right?" Milo criticized, folding his arms with a bewildered expression.

  "Reasons. Let's hit it, folks. That was the warning bell." Calor grunted, getting up behind the others and shoving them roughly, getting them to move away from the seraph.

  Spreading his wings out, Milton shrugged. "Don't like 'em one bit. Mostly Calor. The rest seem nice..." He rose into the air and glided away with one stride after another, moving swiftly and expertly with four wings.

* * *

  "Have any of you seen Mi, lately?" Adair approached the small group after a class, a slight hint of worry in his voice. He had adopted the nickname for the Nekomata recently after Poe had apparently passed. "Must have been Watson again, correct? He's been upping his ante with the kidnappings, hasn't he?"

  Drake popped out of a wall, casually leaning on it. Just recently he managed to get everyone's trust back. "Probably. Got no idea where they would be, no-"

  "Drop her, Mevel."

  Adair glared at the shadow, who figured out how to take people into shadows with him. There was a something wriggling in a distressed way in his coat. Rolling his eyes, he grabbed the side of the trench coat, pulled it up, and watched with a blank face as a blue-gray cat with wide blue eyes and a ribbon on its neck dropped out. The cat ran over to Adair, jumping into the air and twisting, landing on both feet in the form of Midori Suzuki. 

  "How did you know?!"

  The half-insect scoffed with a smug looking smile. "Jackets don't meow and thrash about." The smile turned into a very angry look.  _"Never do that again."_

  "You know, Wata's been AWOL, lately, hasn't he-"

  Ryan walked in, later than usual, looking like a mess. His hair was unsettled, bags were under his eyes, he appeared to be covered in cobwebs, and for some reason there were extra spider legs coming out of his back and hanging limply behind him like a cape. He fidgeted and folded his arms in front of him, looking at the group with a wild-looking smie. "H-hey!" The spiderlike boy scratched his cheek, pausing for a moment. "I found something cool, a-after spending my summer in Tanglewood! You-you wanna know?"

  "You're acting pretty out of character, Ryan. Tanglewood's not a good place to spend so much time in." Drake inquired, frowning. 

  "Ah, Ryan, that name sounds oh-so f-familiar..! Never heard of him, hehe."

  The group of three stared at him with a slightly unsettled look as he walked away. Those two fairies were floating around him, and he never swatted at them once. Definitely something wrong.

* * *

  Watson and Ventrigo stood at one point on the track outside the school. "I'm gonna kick your tail feathers, you dumb Cockatrice!" Taunted the imp, stretching out his wings behind him. 

  "In your dreams! I'm a racing all-star, here!" 

  Several people sat in the bleachers, eager to see which flyer would win the race. The two had been rivals in speed ever since they met, always wanting to prove one was faster. This was it. Practically every person they knew sat in the metal seats sans Drake, Adair, Midori and Ryan: Milo, eager as ever and only excluded because his new wings made him the fastest one in the school; Lucille, clinging to a frowning Thomas and cheering for nobody in particular; Xander, sitting back and relieved at least that Drake was off his back for once; Assad, hiding under a hot seat and whispering about Roombas; Raito and Resa only there because they wanted to see one of them faceplant at some point; Riamh sadly perched on top of a black lobster screeching about how he abhorred everyone there; Sophie and Katie acting way too passionate about everything; and, the two werewolves seeming happy for once, despite losing Fenrir to Poe. 

  A girl with long, oddly cut black hair and violet-looking eyes perked up, running in front of the bleachers. Her body was partly wrapped in bandages, her skin having a slight violet tint to it. She held her head cradled in her arms, an eager look on her face. "Ooh, ooh! I-I wanna judge, is that alright, Wata, s-sir?"

  "Sure, why not? You'll be useful for once, you bandaged pile of trash. Heheh." 

  She held her head out and reached inside her mouth, pulling out a perfectly intact stopwatch.

  "Who is that, and how did she get that in there?" Xander asked, leaning over to Milo with a disgusted expression. 

  The seraph shrugged. "I dunno where she got that, but that's Miki Tsura. That may or may not be her real name, but we just call her that. Wata, however, likes calling her Mono-Miki for no apparent reason." 

  As soon as the mummified girl clicked the button on the stopwatch, the two fliers shot into the sky. "Whoever f-flies a lap first, w-wins! Alright? N-no cheating!"

  A small Nekomata with rainbow contacts and a horrible looking wig with rainbow hair perched on top of a tiny horse in armor. "Princess Sparkle Rainbow Moonshine, AKA Eve the 15th is here, with her perfect steed, Canterlot the Fifty-seventh, also known as Kanter! With a K!"

  "And me! The power-sheep from outer space, Char!" A tiny sheep shouted.

  "Fuck off, you fuckin' weeaboos." Resa rolled his eyes and scoffed. He flicked a good sized fireball at the trio, snickering a little as they cried like small children and fled. What just happened right then?

  After a while, the two fliers finished the lap, lowering to the ground and digging their heels in for a screeching halt. "I totally won!"

  "Take that and shove it up your ass, bird-brain. It was me."

  "It was a tie."

  The imp snarled and grabbed Miki so hard her arm fell off. "I told you. I. Won.  _Tell them I won._ "

  "A tie, sir. It was a tie." 

 _"GOD FUCKING **DAMN** IT!!"_ Watson fell to his knees and screeched into the sky in an exaggerated manner.

  What a perfect way to start the year, huh?

 

 


	11. The Widow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And I don't mean a mourning wife.

  It was late, just past Midnight. Moonlight filtered through the large windows in the gymnasium, reflecting off of the freshly waxed floor and off of thin strands of silk. The sound of slender legs clicking on tiles echoed in the mostly empty room. Quiet voices raised in harmony, a cacophony of dull vibrations.

_"We will take back what is ours."_

* * *

 

  Xander leaned against the wall just outside the gym, staring at the ceiling. He looked at a clock ticking quietly on the wall across from him. 12:15. Whoever was still in this building with him was in for a surprise. Closing his eyes and taking a few deep, slow breaths, he reached his awareness outwards, eventually dipping his feet into the mind of another. He dropped to the nonexistent floor inside of an unknown person's consciousness, looking around as a figure appeared before him. It was Ryan, standing still and emotionless. 

  "Ryan?"

  No answer. Slowly, a large, black spider crawled up his leg, up his body. It settled on the wannabe tailor's forehead, showing the telltale red hourglass of a black widow. Upon closer inspection on the unmoving boy, Xander noticed webs weaved in large spaces on his body: between his arms and sides, for the most part. Stray threads of silk hung off of him, waving slowly to an unfelt breeze. 

  "Ryan, answer me."

  Still no answer. All of a sudden, the familiar spirit that always gave him trouble - Drake - lunged out of nowhere, tackling Ryan. Possession? Possibly. In an unseen struggle, Drake staggered backwards. The arachnid seemed to cackle, moving off of Ryan and quickly weaving a tight line of thread around the spirit's throat, making his eyes dull. It then moved back to the other boy as Drake vanished.

  "What just..?" 

  The spider then noticed Xander. Panicked, he left the boy's mind. What was that just then? He saw Drake leave the gym. 

  "Drake? You alright?"

  Once again, no response. He looked shaken and sleep deprived, for a spirit who never needed sleep. His hair was messier than usual, and he fidgeted a bit. Nothing unusual, Xander assumed. It was just some image in Ryan's head, right?

  The spirit sank into the floor, moving away in the form of a round shadow on the tiled ground. 

* * *

 

  Watson spotted Adair, alone in the courtyard for lunch, while flying around. He snickered, diving into the tree and popping out upside-down, looking at the bug centaur. "Where's Catwoman Junior today, huh?" The imp was answered by a silent glare. "What? In a bad mood? Did someone call the exterminator on you?" 

  "Stop talking, Watson."

  Wata decided to keep going, leaning forward to get closer to his face. "Did your pet cat get taken by animal control today, Bugsy? Maybe Drake nabbed her, huh?" 

  "Stop talking." Adair moodily took a bite out of his food. 

  "Why?" He chuckled and flicked the bug's forehead. "Did you breathe in some bug spray? Cat gotcher tongue?"

  Fed up with the demon's taunting, he grabbed Watson by the neck and forcefully pulled him from the tree, screeching in his face.  _"If you really need to know, you **GOD DAMN NUISANCE,** she's home sick! Now leave me alone or I'll rip your wings out of your back!!" _ He huffed and set down the almost-choking imp, fuming. 

  "Aw, sick? Too bad, I'll have to fuck with her twice as much when she's back." 

  Adair lunged for him again, but missed as he rose into the air. "She might be gone for several days because of a cold she caught! Now kindly,  _ **fuck**_ ** _off_.** " 

_"Mm, he needs to stop getting up in my branches. I abhor imps."_

  Appearing used to the tree's talking, the centaur shrugged, looking at the old, creased face formed in the bark of the trunk. "I know, father. So do I."

_"I wish that witch never cursed me. I wouldn't be trapped in the form of a tree for the rest of my life."_

  Adair nodded, sighing and getting up as a faint bell sounded from the side of the school building. "Yes, yes, I know. I'm still trying to figure out how to reverse it. It's hard living on my own at home, just Mi and I, now. After mother passed, and all." 

  He walked into the building, feeling completely alone.

* * *

  Day by day, it's always been the same.

  Week by week.

  Month by month.

  Oh, how boring it was getting. 

  A faint light became visible.

  Ages upon ages of walking seemed to be worth it after all.

  The person felt no hunger, no thirst, no pain, no fatigue. Only a slight twitch in one hand and a dark want. A need.

  That light, that beacon of hope, it kept getting closer and closer, growing larger with each step. 

  Of course, this person managed to change their wardrobe a bit. Planning on returning to reality, they gave themselves a cloak to disguise their identity for the amount of time they needed.

  Yes, this would be a perfect way to get revenge.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short chapter for plot stuff once again


	12. Urban Legends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Come gather 'round, all ye bastards.

  Several figures were gathered in the middle of a large field. Some looked older than others, which made sense. These were legendary beings forged in the consciousness of mortals, created and known as legends.

  A large dog sat in the ring, three heads on its shoulders snapping at each other. The middle head was the largest, with piercing eyes. A man stood next to the cerberus, holding the leash to a spiked collar around its body. He had messy, slicked back black hair and pale skin, with dark, ringed eyes, wearing nothing but a dark cloak. "Would someone kindly explain why I have been receiving so many clients from this Willow Falls town, lately?"

  "Ahh, but I can simply explain this all in one of my riddles, friend!" A sly voice responded.  _"I am always around, but never seen. I am often avoided, but you can't out run me. for I will come when your old and grey, or maybe even the very next day. I will come with cold embrace, and give you rest with a chilled kiss on your face. I come in may forms of emotional state, weather it's irony, love, laughter, or hate. I am everyone's finale fate."_ The owner of the voice had the body of a lion below his waist, his upper body being that of a bronze-skinned man with long, black hair that covered his back and flowed over his shoulders. His face was catlike, with a curled mouth and narrow, yellow eyes. 

  "Sphinx, that's simply a riddle that is answered with death. This isn't funny."

  "Hades, Hades! You know I'm just being catty, as usual." The sphinx gave a hissing cackle, folding his arms. "I believe I have your real answer, however! Ah, yes... I can see it now! It is a murderer."

  A largely set man in a robe with a grizzled beard sighed. "A murderer? That is not specific enough, dear Sphinx. I can tell, as I know of all..."

  "Oh, Ogma, you sly dog! Tell us, tell us!"

  Ogma closed his eyes in concentration. "Mm... Maxwell Reichs. She was a kind woman, very responsible and loved by the town. Married into the Delrick family. Turned to stone by mistake by Ventrico - the Cockatrice."

  "It was a mistake to gift that hyperactive beast with the gift to kill with eye contact." Another man, donned in a robe with white hair on his head, nodded quietly. "However, I will spare her from judgement. Accidents happen. Brother Hades, you will spare her as well. Is this clear?"

  "Yes, Zeus." Hades solemnly muttered. "Go on, Ogma."

  "Enoch, however, I cannot see his state in death. He was deserving of this fate, as he was tainted by darkness and became twisted of heart." 

  Sphinx cackled again. "Ah, ah, Enoch deserved to become twisted in the first place! He was much too boring and benevolent, another antagonist in a never-ending story is only necessary."

  Ogma rolled his eyes at the Egyptian's cackling. "I do not understand. You speak of too many deaths? There have only been three. The third - Fenrir Lupais, destroyed by Enoch's darkness. Do you predict more?"

  Hades scoffed. "Of course there will be more. I can feel the essence of chaos brewing in that town's core. Eris would be proud, she hasn't needed to toss her golden apple about at all in this location since several millenia ago."

  "I see, now that I have gazed into the near future, I can see deaths. Many deaths. However, most can be prevented."

  "Let us hope they won't, shall we? This petty town needs some action in its history, ah hah hah!"

  "Silence, Sphinx." 

* * *

  A belt of firecrackers ignited in the hall, each small explosive blooming into a loud, violent flower of light. It was long, extending along the entire length of the wing of the school. At one end, a boy stood, his face filled with glee only a pyromaniac could muster. A mess of golden hair sat on his head, his bangs masking brown eyes on peach-colored skin. He was blanketed by a large, golden brown cloak with fur on the collar, a large backpack full of various explosives and fireworks on his back and a lighter in his hand. Giggling wildly, he slapped a black plague doctor mask down from on top of his head onto his face. The beak of the mask had flames painted on it. 

  "Er, Boom, do you really think you should be doing this?" A pale-skinned boy with black rabbit ears poking out of his messy, long hair murmured, staring at him with nervous blue eyes. He fidgeted with the sleeves of an oversized black sweater over gray shorts and boots. "This'll get us in s-so much trouble..."

  A boy with pale hair and the ears and wings of a bat flitted around the rabbit boy. "Chill, Milky. We'll be fine, we just gotta ditch." He sported a brown outfit with cyan accents on his jacket and pants. "Cream 'n I'll make sure of it." 

  The only girl in the group, with short hair dyed salmon and white horns poking out of it, nodded. Her skin was darker than the rest, and she wore a simpler outfit compared to the rest; a white, black-spotted vest, white shorts, and black shoes. A short, white tail with hair also dyed salmon on the tip poked out of the back of her shorts. "Mhm." She heard a noise and jolted. "Flit, people are coming!"

  "Abort, abort!" Boom cried, looking over his shoulder at the approaching person. He hoisted his bag onto his back and sprinted down the hall, grabbing the rail on the stairs to the next floor down and raising up his short legs, quickly moving down the stairs without touching the floor. The others followed- Flit gliding after, Milky taking his time on the stairs, and Cream going 'screw that' and jumping, clearing the somewhat short set of stairs and landing firmly on her feet, staggering a bit. 

  A person walked over to the beginning of the line of firecrackers, frowning. "...aw. I wasn't gonna get them in trouble..." He frowned, his slender, spade-tipped tail poking out of the bottom of his orange jacket waving around a little. The young Incubus ran a hand through his messy reddish hair. "They looked pretty, uh... yeah..." His stomach growled.

  "Ah... gotta eat." 

* * *

 

  Boom sat in a dark, small room - A small cellar in the basement of the school. The only source of light was the flame on his lighter. The other three members of his little gang sat around him, Milky dozing in Cream's lap, and Flit fidgeting with his jacket. 

  Someone knocked on the small door, opening it without a response. That guy from earlier.

  "You again?" Boom recognized him. 

  "Mm... I'm kinda hungry. Do you have food?"

  Flit huffed, bristling. "No. Go away, demon."

  "But I see it right there! I have a name, you know." The Incubus pushed into the small room, plopping down and curling his tail around himself. "Technically, I'm Beelzebub. A reincarnation, really. The real one got killed a long time ago." He mused, messing with his jacket. "I prefer to go by the nickname Bean. Don't wanna be associated with that guy, even though I'm supposed to be him. I'm an Incubus."

  "Ech. Sex demon." Boom stood up, holding a small firecracker in one hand. "Go on, leave. We don't have any food, and none of us wanna sell our souls to get banged by a demon." 

  Bean sighed. "Mm... have it your way. I'll find food somewhere else." He squeezed back through the door and stood up, walking away.

  "That guy was weird. Doesn't act like any Succubus or Incubus I've heard of." Cream mused.

  "Don't worry about it. He's just some weirdo claiming to be some infamous demon guy."

 


	13. Face-Heel Turn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "He who fights monsters should see to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."

  "You've become too close to her, you know. You'll take her away from me if you keep doing that.  **She's mine.** " 

  As claws dug into the assaulter, Yven felt pain blossom in the center of her chest and drag downwards, bloody roses blooming on her body and the ground below her. 

  "I-I was jus'... j-jus' talkin' to her..! I don't even c-consider myself a friend..!" 

  She choked on spit and blood, taking ragged breaths, struggling to fight against pressure building in a lung grazed by what pierced her torso. 

  "Excuses don't work here, Lycaon. _Tell Lupais and Allens I said hi when you go to hell."_

* * *

 

  A large group of people stood in the courtyard, talking. A teacher stood with them, attempting to explain the activity as several voices talked over each other. Drake and Watson murmured to each other, Adair, Midori, Gnoll, Yven, Katie, and Sophie all conversed in a group, and Ven squawked gossip about Ryan's whereabouts to Xander. 

  "Okay, class. We'll be conducting a mock murder investigation today. One of you will be chosen to be the victim, another the murderer, and you must figure out who the murderer is over the next week or so. I have already informed our murderer and vic--"

  "Kill me." Yven muttered. "Go on, murderer. I'm the fuckin' victim. Kill me."

  Drake snickered. "Fine, but lemme get the cat lady first! Eheh." He swiped for Midori, hissing as she jumped away, morphing into her feline form. "Get back here-- gotcha!" The ghost cackled, holding the struggling cat close, making his body tangible.

  "Mevel! You little..!" Adair glanced behind the specter and gasped in mock shock. "My god, what is that?!" Surprisingly, Drake fell for it, allowing Midori to squirm out of his arms and bound over to the half-insect. "You fell for that? Amazing." His voice was monotonous as he drove one leg through the spirit's right eye, destroying the hollow shell Drake's human form apparently was. "That's for taking her. Again." A bit of black tainted the tip of the leg, staying there despite his attempts to shake the darkness off. "Ech, what is this, oil?"

  "It's dark matter, haven't you read about it in your dumb father's book of shit?!" Drake snapped as darkness similar to his form as a living shadow filled the gaping hole, a white half-circle like the eyes in said form replacing a golden brown one. Oddly enough, what appeared to be cobwebs seemed to faintly appear on some spaces of his body. "That's what I'm made of, you fucking..!" The ghost was, to put it lightly, losing his SHIT over this situation. He snarled, lunging for Adair and only being stopped by Watson stepping between them. 

  "Not now, Danny Phantom."

  "God damn it, Wata, don't call me that! I'm not from some stupid cartoon!"

  "Whatever. Back in the shadow, you fuckin' nerd." 

  Adair watched, protectively moving an arm around the now human Nekomata's shoulders, narrowing his eyes at everyone standing around him. He was acting a bit off, it seemed. "Don't worry, Mi, I got you... nobody will be able to take you away anymore."

  "On that note, a new murderer has been decided, as Mr. Mevel revealed himself in that outburst. You two - Delrick, Mevel - will be receiving detentions for this small fight." The teacher adjusted her glasses. "The murder will be set up during lunch today. I expect Yven and her murderer to both work together. Peacefully." She walked back inside. 

* * *

 

  "This... this is not what I meant by setting up a murder. I expected a fake murder, not a real one." The teacher struggled to keep her composure. Herself and the group of students stood around the body of Yven Lycaon, horrified looks plastered on every face. A real murder, with real blood, and real death. "You will all receive a 100% if you solve this murder, s-students. This is an official murder investigation as of now." Cupping a hand over her mouth, the teacher escaped from the area.

  Gnoll shakily knelt down by the body. "Y-Yven... y-you were the on-only one I had left after F-Fen died..."

  "Oh, hey, everyone." A red-haired incubus strolled up to the scene. "When you all finish up here, can I use the body for something? Official... demon things. It's required by... demon laws." 

  Watson rolled his eyes. "Anythin' to get ridda this corpse, Bean, I mean, it's stinkin' up the halls already."

  Bean smiled and nodded. "Alright." He walked out immediately.

  Sophie examined Yven's body closely. "There is a strand of ginger hair on her chest. The amount of red-haired students in this group that could be responsible is alarming, however, so we have many suspects. Watson, Adair, and Gnoll. Alarming as in, the ratio. Red hair is supposed to be rather rare around here..." She squinted. "A blackish residue is embedded in the drops of blood in the wound on her torso. A rather malevolent substance, slowly spreading in an attempt to overtake the red blood cells."

  "Repeat that in English, Bambi." Wata muttered.

  She looked up at the imp, a look of disapproval on her face. "A ginger killed her with a weapon tainted by dark matter." 

  "Hey, her hand's all bloody. Left hand." Katie pointed out, gesturing at Yven's bloody hand. "Must've tried to defend herself."

  "Ah, yes. Does anyone have any recent claw-related wounds?"

  Adair kept silent, refusing to point out the claw marks over his right eye, making it blinded. Watson pulled up his shirt, showing a few long scars on his torso, and Gnoll had nothing to show. 

  Everyone turned to stare at Wata, suspicious.

  "Woah, woah, jus' because I'm an asshole, doesn't mean I do that!" He held his hands up in a gesture of innocence as if a cop had just told him to put his hands in the air. "I'm fuckin' innocent, go stare at King Candy over there."

  "King Candy?" 

  "Dude, have you  _seen_ the ending of that Ralph movie? I'm talkin' 'bout Adair." 

  Eyes stared over at the bug centaur. "Yeah, why is your eye messed up all of a sudden?" Katie pointed out.

  "I got in a... feud. With Midori." He stumbled over his words, glancing over at the cat girl clinging to his back in fear and trembling. "Right?"

  "M....m-mhm..."

  Adair spoke up after getting the girl's response. "I have decided something. This is unrelated to the murder, but important."

  "What, have you finally decided to stop starching your hair to make it look so shitty?" Drake quipped, smirking.

  "No." He rolled his eyes. "I have decided to go by a nickname of sorts, much like Watson's moniker of 'Wata'. In honor of my late father, I will go by Remus - his name, but backwards." 

  "Wow, dumb."

  "Silence, you worthless slab of meat." Adair - Remus snapped at the imp.

  Xander stiffened up. "That name sounds oddly familiar. Huh... reminds me of this dream where I was in this Silenda place." He cringed. "You're acting pretty unlike yourself all of a sudden, Adaiiiiiirrrrrremus. Remus." 

  "It is only because I have decided to alter my demeanor around others. I have let the arrogant fools like Watson and Drake shove Midori and I around too much lately, I'm simply asserting myself."

  "Whatever." 

  Midori stared ahead, looking terrified of nothing in particular.


	14. Revenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A dish best served cold.

  A blond figure stood silhouetted over the cardboard moon, in the center of the gym. Hands with clean, white gloves rested firmly on his hips. He wore a fanciful black suit, a red, silken cape, a small top hat, and a black mask covering his eyes. An arrogant laugh erupted from him, accompanied by an obviously faked and sophisticated sounding accent.

  "Ahaha! You, foul villain, have been caught red-handed by the masked masquerade, the caped cavalier--"

  " _Thomas_ , I told you, we're done. I told you that an hour ago." Lucille deadpanned, sitting on top of the currently folded closed bleachers. A crop top that appeared to be a bit tight and some skinny jeans made up her outfit. "I changed out of the costume a long time ago, why won't you?"

  The magician slouched, giving off an exaggerated sigh and dropping the faked accent. " _Luuucyyyyy... c'mooon._ " He whined, pulling off the mask and knocking the hat off his head while doing so. "Bein' Ace'a Spades's fun, though!" Thomas undid the velvety red bow tie fastened around his neck and threw it over his shoulder. After throwing the white gloves away from himself, he started to unbutton the shirt underneath the suit jacket when he was interrupted.

  "Yeesh, there's other people in here, think before you strip in front of everyone, Slick." Raito rolled his eyes, standing up straight after leaning on the wall with the music in his headphones cranked up loud. He adjusted his sunglasses, glaring at Thomas. Some of the light from overhead reflected off of the lenses for a moment, making them seem to glow. "If you need me, I'll be at home. Or with Resa. Either thing works. If I'm with him, _don't_ bother me." The wannabe DJ walked out of the gymnasium, a bit of static buzzing around him.

  Ryan erratically looked around, sitting in a corner of the gym and making a small web shakily between his fingers. Occasionally, he looked up from his hands, wildly looking at the others.

  Thomas's blue eyes met with Ryan's yellowish for a split second, and the magician looked away, feeling uncomfortable. _"...wha's gotten inta 'im lately?"_

  Another blond - Xander - spoke up, looking up from sitting against a wall and reading a novel. "I believe he has been possessed by a malevolent type of 'Spirit Guide' known as one of 'The Widows'. It takes the form of a black widow spider and often gives the host arachnid-like traits, such as extra eyes or legs, or perhaps a bunch of cobwebs hanging off of the vessel's body. If an esper was to look at his etheric form, he would appear to be a normal human being, blindfolded, the Widow perched on his head, and wrapped up like a mummy in spider silk."

  "That's kinda dark."

  "Yes, but it's true. Remember, I'm a renowned paranormal investigator - casually called a ghost hunter. I'm so good at detecting supernatural activity because I'm an esper myself." Xander smugly smiled, marking his place in the novel and closing it as he stood up. "As an example, you are currently fantasizing about your girlfriend's abnormally large boobs." 

  Thomas yelped, blushing violently. _"I-I'm not..!!"_

  "Upon taking another look, you are a pathological liar, and in fact, are." He frowned, looking past the other blond at Ryan. "...however, I do not know how to break Ryan from the grip of the Widow. He appears to have been possessed since before his arrival to Willow Falls. It makes sense - the town he originated from had a recent outbreak of Widow possessions, the start and end dates including the last known day Mr. Taylor was there."

  Taking a few deep breaths to cool his hot face while meeting a smirk from Lucille with a glare, Thomas shrugged and started walking out. "Hope y'find out. I wanna know wha'th'real Ryan's like. Hopefully better than a grumpy asshole."

  Lucille followed after. Xander smiled, chuckling a little at Thomas's comment. He sent a last, worried look at the possessed teen and left the gym.

* * *

 

  Remus swore he could hear a terrified scream from Midori somewhere. But where? She had been missing the entire day. Drake must have done something. He restlessly wandered the halls, desperately trying to get a glance of the girl. "Midori..? _Midori!"_

  He heard another cry, coming from a dark room lit up by a single light. Frowning, the bug centaur stepped in, looking around and spotting them. Drake forced Midori to stay upright, holding her hair to keep her head up. One foot was pushing down on her small tail.

  "What... _what are you doing to her..?!"_

  Drake smirked over his shoulder, the white semicircle left where he was stabbed in the eye glowing slightly. He ignored Remus besides that. "Come on, Midori. Say it without pronouncing it weird with your little accent, and I'll stop." A low cackle rose up under his breath.

  Midori spotted her adoptive brother and smiled weakly, hoping for help. _"B-big b-br-r-rr-"_

  "Go on, say it."

_"Br-r-ruu--"_

  The ghost smirked, raising the foot over the Nekomata's tail up. "Try again!"

  She fearfully sniffled, sending a terrified look at Remus. _"R-r-rruuu--"_

  "Ah, ah, _aaaah!"_ He slammed his foot down on her tail, a sickening crack ringing out as a tiny bone in it was broken. Midori sobbed, struggling and trying to get to her brother. 

  Remus walked up behind the spirit, emotionless. He raised one of his front legs, frowning. "Leave my little sister alone."

  Drake looked over his shoulder just as a leg went through his back. _"Ghh-- ahah--"_

  "Why are you laughing, Mevel?"

_"Hh-hah..._ I'm dead! You can't kill me!" Smirking, he painfully twisted around, shoving the leg away from his body. The large hole dripped with a shadowy, almost bloodlike liquid, slowly closing up similarly to how his eye wound healed itself. "This isn't over, Delrick. I'll get back at you some other way!" Upon a quick, close look at him, Drake appeared to be fidgeting similarly to Ryan. Faint, translucent threads of silk drifted in the air, connected to his limbs.

  Remus lunged for him, but missed - he leaned backwards, falling in a trust fall type of movement, turning into a silhouette on the tiled floor on impact. 

  Angrily sighing, the bug moved over to Midori. "Are you alright?" He gingerly picked the sniveling cat hybrid up, slowly moving out of the room. "Miss Sephrona knows some healing magic. Don't worry, I'll get you better... but don't mention this incident to anyone, alright?" 

  _"B..ig... br-bru....other..."_ She braced herself, going silent for a moment upon saying 'ru'. 

* * *

 

  Boom frantically looked around. "Flit? _Flit?!"_

  "Oh, you're looking for him..?" Bean smiled, looking down at the shorter, younger boy, who just ran into his belly. He seemed to be a bit chubbier today, looking sleepy. Bean yawned. "I saw him a while ago... he ran away..." Another sleepy yawn slipped out of the Incubus. "...said he'd never come back..."

  The pyromaniac yelped. "N-never..?! Are you sure..?"

  "Yeah... go on, give up... on looking for him, I mean..!" 

  Boom sadly walked away, slipping into his little hideout where Cream and Milky anxiously waited.

  A small, dark smile spread on the demon's face.

_"...ah... I guess I shouldn't tell about what REALLY happened, then..."_


	15. A Not-So Tearful Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Long time no see, 'friend'.

  Milo stared at the person standing across from him on the road to the school. 

  "Who are you..?"

  The figure lowered the hood of his black cloak, a thin smile on his lips.

  "Why, don't you remember me?"

  The seraph shook, angrily staring at Enoch. His fists were clenched, along with his teeth. 

  "I thought you were dead..."

  A raven circled in the air.

  "Do you really think a little static could keep me down?" His hand twitched. "I'm a little twitchy, but I'll be  _fine."_  

  "Bring..." Milo screeched.  _"Bring Poe back!"_

* * *

 

  "How did this happen, Adair-- Remus?" Sophie asked, looking down at the sleeping Nekomata laying on a mat in the satyr's room. "This is serious... bruises everywhere, broken fingers, every bone in her tail shattered..."

  Remus folded his arms in front of his chest. "It was a... very terrible accident. No more questioning."

  The satyr looked at him suspiciously and silently nodded, putting her hand gently on Midori's forehead. The hand glowed softly with a whitish light. "This process will take several hours, so please leave until then." 

  "No. I will not leave. I have to make sure you do not cause any further harm to her." He gradually raised his voice, looking irritated. "If you cause any harm to her, I WILL KILL YOU."

  Sephrona yelped, pressing her hand on the girl more. "I-it'll just be a little while, I-I'll speed up the process..!"

  "If you lay a hand on her besides the one healing her, I will--"

  "Yo, Soph, I was wondering where you were! Why's Beetlejuice and Meowmix with you?" Katie walked in with her arms folded behind her head, walking like she was in some anime. She sat down with her legs crossed next to the girl. "Man, Kit-Kat looks baaaad. What happened?"

  Sophie shrugged, side-eyeing the centaur. "He's refusing to tell, so I have no idea."

  After a few awkwardly silent moments, the cat hybrid opened her eyes a little, sitting up stiffly. "...mmm... nothing hur-rruts anymorue..." She cringed lightly every time 'ru' came out of her mouth.

  "Why's she worried about her little tic?" Katie pointed out through a mouthful of food - she had a bag of tiny little sausages that looked vaguely like dog treats in one hand. Her tails absently waved behind her.

  Midori quietly whimpered. "Dr...ruake..."

  "...Drake?"

  Remus picked up Midori and began walking out. "It's nothing, I assure you."

  Sophie stared after them. "We need to talk to Drake."

* * *

  "Ah... all this has paid off, huh?" You peered through the doorway of Sephrona's room, eavesdropping. "Ahaha... after convincing Drake to steal Poe's feather, and making Drake snap by having him get set up to lose his eye, this is exactly what I wanted out of this. But it's not enough." You walk away, going to your own home. "Maybe I could mess with Enoch more, since he came back... or manipulate Raito and Resa? Maybe provoke the Widows more." 

  A smirk covered your face.

  "This town will burn, someday. And I'll make sure to be the one who causes its fall."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whooooo's that giiirl


	16. The Willow by the Falls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a reason Willow Falls was named what it is.

  Milo laced up a pair of boots, ignoring the endless apologies coming from the boy in glasses behind him. 

  "C...come on! What happened, Milton? I'm back to 'normal', whatever that means!"

  Every word Poe said went in one ear and soared out the other like a restless falcon. He zipped his aviator jacket up, slipping a thinner sweater on over it. The seraph pulled his hood out from under the thin fabric of the black pull-over and put it over his orange hair, keeping silent.

  "Why aren't you responding? Did I do something bad?"

  "....you did everything bad. You're lucky Riamh didn't abandon the town. Now get out of my room." He sullenly hissed at Edward, roughly shoving past him while slipping on gloves, walking outside. 

  "...what? Where are you even going?" 

  Milo glared over his shoulder. "Every year on the first snow, my friends and I go to the place that earned this town its name. You wouldn't know, _newbie_." 

  "Are you suggesting we aren't friends?"

  The seraph spread his wings, lifting off the ground outside. "Not anymore. Not after what you did."

* * *

 

  A small group stood at the decrepit gate to Tanglewood Forest. It consisted of Katherine, Sephrona, Midori, Remus, Milton, Watson, Drake, Xander, and Ryan. Katie and Sophie huddled together, small clouds of mist puffing out of their mouths. The kitsune made a small, hot blue flame in her hands, holding it close to her and her friend for warmth. Midori laid in Remus's arms, curled up and asleep. Milo stood alone, near Watson, who had Drake residing in his shadow. Xander was close to Ryan, keeping a close eye on the possessed boy. 

  "Here we go." Milo gestured at Katie, stepping back from the gate. She nodded, enlarging the flame in her hands and pushing it towards the gate, heating the bars up enough to be more easily bent. With two firm hands, she grasped the red hot bars and pushed them apart, gradually heating them up more to speed up the process. After hopping through, she stepped aside for the others to go through. One by one, they all slipped through, even Remus - except for Wata and Milo, who simply flew over. Xander tugged on Ryan's sleeve, jolting him out of a daydream enough for him to follow the others. 

  They each traveled together, going deeper and deeper into the forest until they came to a clearing. It dropped off into bluffs, a large pool of clear water in the middle of the drop-off. A shimmering waterfall poured down into the partly frozen lake, and the entire perimeter was made up of ancient willow trees. As a tradition, Milo jumped off the cliff, hovering in mid-air over the center of the water and holding his arms out, beaming.

  "Welcome," he shouted, "to the original Willow Falls!" 

  Katie sat down and patted the patch of snow-covered grass next to her, dangling her legs off the edge of the cliff. "Come over here, Midori. I wanna give you something." The small cat hybrid wriggled out of her overprotectvie sibling's arms, plopping down next to the kitsune. Katherine twirled her finger in the air as a sign for the little girl to turn around. "Just gimme a bit..."

  Sophie plucked an apple from a tree a bit outside of the ring of willows, biting into the still-ripe fruit with a juicy crunch. "The snow must have been recent in this area. If it was any longer, the fruit would be frozen and unfit for consumption." She quietly mused to herself, finishing the red fruit in a few large bites. One doe ear perked up, picking up the sound of rustling leaves. "Ah. Must be an animal. I'm one of your kind, fellow crea-" She turned to face the source of the noise, paling. "-ture?"

  Wata sat back in a cave inside of the cliff's face, looking around. "This cave's always full of geodes. Wonder where they are this year?" He mused to himself, scanning the dark crevice with cold blue eyes. "Ah!" Spotting a shimmering mound of clear crystal, he kicked it firmly with a boot to unsettle it, loosening it. A large cracking noise sounded, but he ignored it as he picked up his prize. Right as he was stepping out of the cave, the stone beneath his feet gave out, causing him to plummet. He frantically put the geode in his pocket and jumped into the sky, but it was so sudden it caused Drake to be ripped out of his shadow, caught in the rock slide. 

  "Wata, you moron! You always cause rock slides when you kick the _gghAHK--!_ " Drake was cut off by a shard of rock getting lodged in his neck. He staggered and made himself intangible long enough for the sharp stone to fall out of his body, the wound closing itself in a splotch of black. "...ech. I hate when that happens." 

  Ryan vanished into the thick trees, absently plucking large bugs out of the air and shoving them into his mouth. Xander followed, grimacing. "Ryan! You're still partly a human, don't just eat bugs! That's _gross!"_ The arachnid hybrid hissed and ate another beetle as a rebellious act.

  Katie finished braiding Midori's hair and weaving decorative roses into it as a loud scream came from behind her. It was Sophie. She was tackled by some impossibly fast, orange and red blur, being shoved off the edge of the bluff in the chaos. The assaulter was already gliding away, still too fast to be seen clearly, but appeared to be some kind of demon. The satyr plummeted into the ice-cold water, crashing through a layer of thin ice. 

_"So...ph..?"_ Katie gasped, staring down over the edge at her friend. A huge bite appeared to be taken out of part of her neck and a lot of her shoulder, enough for her arm to have been ripped off in the split seconds it took for her to be thrown into the frigid lake. She wailed, clambering down the cliff face and diving into the water, pulling the shivering, dying girl out while warming herself with her cobalt embers. "S-stay with me... j-ju-just heal yourself, Soph..!! _Please!"_

_"A-ah... I was just... eating, Ka-Katherine..."_

  **_"Heal yourself!"_**

  Sephrona weakly smiled, shakily raising her remaining arm up to touch Katie's trembling chest. _"It's... my time, Kath-Katherine... I-I knew this would hap-happen..."_ Slowly, her arm slacked, growing colder than it already was. The kitsune held her close and screamed. 

* * *

 

  Poe heard the scream. He was sneaking into the woods, and had a warm coat on over his vest. The scream made him break into a sprint, skidding to a stop at the entrance to the clearing. The landscape took his breath away, but as soon as he looked down, he froze, his body feeling colder than the snow gathered around his legs. 

  "What on earth..?"

  Drake climbed up the bluff in the form of a thin shadow, rising up next to Poe with a smirk. "Look at them, Poe. They're suffering. Entertaining, right?"

  "...no. You're disgusting if you find this as a good thing." 

  "Ah, then allow me to help you out." He tried to grab the feather and rip it off, but a raven screeched, diving from above and clawing his face with talons. "--!!"

  "Riamh..? Where have you been?"

  The raven fended off the ghost long enough for him to give up and slink away into the darkness of the woods. "It's a long story, involving you."

  " _Me..?_ "

  "Yes. Would you like me to explain?"

  ".....please do."


	17. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't go in the deep end.

  A familiar person sat in the water, folding her arms over the edge in a carefree manner. Long, ginger hair and green eyes made her look very similar to a certain person in the group in the drop-off. She put one hand on her cheek, smiling up at the winged teenager standing on top of the bluffs. Pale, white wings spread behind her, damp and useless because of the cold water soaked into its feathers.

_"Milo...come here, honey... I've missed you."_

  Milo stared down at her in shock. What..? His mother was dead. She died decades ago. 

  "M...mom..?"

  The woman put both hands down on the shore, pushing herself out of the water a little, beckoning.

_"Come into the water with me, Milo! Don't you want to be with your mother?"_

  Almost as if he was in a trance, the young seraph darted down in front of her, walking towards the water. He inched closer and closer, until a hand on his shoulder stopped him, jolting him out of the daze. "...Poe? You're not supposed to be here."

  "Don't trust her. It's a siren."

  His eyes widened. "A siren? But... she looks exactly like my mom."

  Poe shook his head, folding his arms. "Sirens look different to everyone. She looks like the beast she really is, to me. Mostly because I don't have anyone I care about that I lost."

  Milo clenched his fists, turning back around. "You're just saying that because you don't want me to be happy! You're just that asshole in disguise." He let himself smile, walking closer to the edge of the water, and dipping one foot in. "...yeesh, cold... how can you stand it, mo-"

  The siren laughed, slowly changing her appearance to look like she really did - a scaly beast with sharp teeth and yellow eyes. She wrapped her hands around his leg and pulled him in. Milo screamed and tried to pull away, but was too weak. His wings were too wet to fly.

  Katie stared at Sophie's body, shaking. She wanted to go help Milo, but she also wanted to be there when Sophie woke back up. She was gonna wake up, right?

  Wata rolled his eyes and grabbed Milo's arm, flying up in an attempt of pulling him out. The siren's grip weakened enough for him to pull the seraph out of the pool. "Alright, fuckers, it's about time we go back anyway. Fuckin' useless, needin' my help..."

  Poe silently glared at the imp.  _I was gonna do that! It'd get Milo to forgive me._

  After a while, the small group got back together and started to get back to town.

  However, Drake had left long before the rest.

* * *

 

  "Raito? Where the fuck didja go? Ya promised t' meet me at the cafe earlier!" Resa yelled out, standing in the lobby of the school. "Where is he..?"

  His phone vibrated. He usually never got anything on it during school, so this was a bit off. Shrugging, he took it out and turned it on. 

  And nearly dropped it.

_"Resaaaaa!! Some pixel...y ghost thing grabbed me!! I'm stuck in-- hey, this isn't a TV."_ The ginger in headphones's body from the waist up was on the screen, looking distressed. He had his face and one hand pressed up against the screen as if it was an invisible wall, one fist pounding on it with a faint, muffled banging. His voice sounded like a ghost's voice would sound like in movies - like it was filtered and given a sharp, echoing sound to it.

  "Dammit, Raito, what the hell?! I was lookin' all over for you!"

  Raito frowned and crossed his arms. He looked a bit more pixelated on the screen of the blond's phone.  _"Well, jeez, sorry that I kind of got trapped inside of anything with a screen, now."_

  After thinking it over for a moment, Resa shrugged again and smiled a tiny bit. "Look on the bright side. At least it'll be easier to find ya."

_"...yeah, I guess. But what if you accidentally melt something while I'm inside it?? What if that kills me?"_ The phone sparked a little in Resa's hand, making him flinch.

  "Cool it, I won't." 

* * *

  "Mm... Bean, was it? I need you to do something for me. Don't worry, though. You'll get something out of it." Drake's voice echoed from no place in particular in the pitch black room he managed to trick the Incubus into wandering into.

  Bean sleepily sighed, making no move to leave the room. "Like... what..?" He rubbed one eye with a hand covered by the end of an oversized sleeve on his jacket. "Is it good?" 

  The sly smirk of the shadowy ghost appeared on a dark wall. "Of course it is. You like eating, right? I mean, it's awfully suspicious that anyone you make your little deals with end up missing because they've been eaten, right?"

  "...ah, yeah... thas' me." He yawned. "I'm always sleepy after eating a lot... all I really had today was part of some kid's neck and arm. I heard some people freaked over it, though..." Bean nodded off for a moment, then stood up straight. "I-I'm awake!!"

  "...I see. There's someone I want you to get rid of in that way. "

  "Ooh! Do you mean eating..?" The Incubus was wide awake now, and felt kind of hungry.

  A light switched on, and the darkness dissolved like smoke, revealing the boy in a trench coat with a wide smirk on his face. "Yes."

  "What's her name?"

  "It's, ah..." He opened the door, leaving the room. The last thing he said was tossed over his shoulder at the demon.

  "Midori Suzuki."


	18. Seven Sins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One of which is a bit attention-hungry.

  Midori walked down the hall quietly. She was just going to get a drink, big brother Remus wouldn't mind if she was gone for a bit after class, right? A door nearby creaked loudly, spooking the girl enough to jump and land on the tiled floor as a cat with her back raised. After the fear passed, she returned to her mostly-human form and kept walking, a shiny metal water fountain slowly edging into her vision. 

  The wet, red, tendril-looking thing wrapping around her ankle and pulling her down was a bit... unexpected.

  She screamed, trying to resist as whatever it was pulled her into the room with an ominously creaky door. It was completely dark in there, making her nervous. What was pulling her into the air just then..? It was kind of slimy, and a little bumpy. Almost like a giant tongue.

  "I can already tell, you taste sweet... like chocolate!" That voice was a bit familiar, a bit not. 

  The light flicked on, startling whatever it was enough to drop her and move out of sight before it was noticed. A worried-looking Remus stood in the doorway. "There you are! I heard a scream... are you alright, Midori?"

  "S-something gruabbed me... i-it was ruearuy scaruy..." She whimpered, crawling over to the centaur and crawling on top of his back. 

  A tinge of anger lined his voice. "Whoever did it, once I find them... they'll never see the light of day again!" His wrathful tone startled the girl a little, but she quickly dozed off in the comfort of her older sibling's protection. They both went out to lunch together, forgetting about the incident as they went to the large tree.

  They ate in peace, but Midori couldn't help but feel like she was being watched. "...big bruother?"

  "Yes, Midori?"

  "I feel ruike someone's... watching me."

  "Ah, it's probably nothing. If it's whoever was trying to hurt you earlier, I'll make sure they don't touch you ever again."

* * *

 

  Poe stared from a distance at Milo with his group of friends. He honestly envied him for being so easy to get along with, and all Poe could do was sit and wait for at least one person to forgive him for what he couldn't even remember. What did he do to deserve this? Nothing. Maybe he could... no, that'd just make the seraph hate him more. He looked down at his hands. For some reason, whenever he got upset, lately, they'd flicker with some odd, black fire-looking substance. It didn't hurt him, but looking at it made him think of darker things than usual.  

  "...Milton Travis." He hissed the name out. No heads turned, and Milo simply spitefully side-eyed the boy. This was so annoying. What did he do? He desperately wanted to know. Slowly, he took a step forward, and another, quietly approaching him.

  "Ah, there he is. Dark Matter freak." Wata sneered with a smirk, being a bit of a hypocrite, since he was tainted with it, himself. "Go kill another dog or something, Nevermore."

  "Ah," Poe hissed, sending another jealous glance at Milo, who simply glared back, "what a _creative_ nickname." His dull comment was dripping with sarcasm and sheathed hate. "You know, have you ever been hated for seemingly no reason? Left in the dark, completely alone because of actions you don't even remember doing? It's lovely.  _Fucking. Lovely."_  At that bitter muttering, he turned tail and walked away, looking at his hands as they sparked with the odd, black flames.

  After the white-haired teen was out of sight, the angel wistfully groaned. "...I wanna forgive him so bad, but what if Enoch comes back or something?"

  "Abandon him. That'll teach 'im."

  "You're not helping at all, Wata."

* * *

 

  "Man, Lucy, are you tryin' t'make m'get all bothered'r somethin', t'night?" Thomas lustfully muttered, doing his best to not have his eyes on his girlfriend for too long. The two of them were out on a date at a nearby cafe, known for its kick-ass burgers and fries that had just the right mix of salt and crunchiness. 

  Lucille giggled, leaning forward and putting one elbow on the table, putting a hand on her cheek. "What do you mean? Are my shoulders  _distracting you?_ " She stole a fry from the magician while he wasn't looking, popping it into her mouth.

  "Heh, nah, I'm not like th'people that apparently're why we 'ave a dress code at school. I mean, d'they really think we care if some chick's bra straps're showin'? It's ridiculous." He took a big bite of his food, looking up into the clouds absentmindedly. "Thanks fer payin' for th'food, though. I'm broke till my next show." Leaning forward, he made an exaggerated and failed attempt to kiss the girl from across the table. 

  The Succubus simply watched and snickered. "What're you doing, trying to suck face with the wind?" She finished off her burger with a large bite and stood up. 

  "Oh, c'mon, lemme finish, too, Lucy." Thomas whined, rushing to finish his own burger off and grabbing his fries. "I still have some left, d'ya want 'em?" Without saying a word, Lucille bent down and ate the tries out of the magician's hand. "...I'll... take that as a yes." After licking salt off her lips, the demon leaned up and pecked Thomas on the cheek, causing him to blush lightly.  _"A-ah, c-c'mon, we're in public..."_

  "You're a dork."

  "...yeah, I know. ...you wanna go to the park?"

  "Yeah! Why not?"

* * *

  Ventrico walked into Katie's room. "Aw, c'mon, Katie... you're a sloth, get up."

  "No." The kitsune whined, curled around a pillow and sniffling. 

  "You won't let Sophie get you down THAT much, will you? She's still with you, in there." The cockatrice cheesily poked the girl's chest -where her heart would be- after pushing her away from the pillow. 

  Katherine couldn't help but crack up a little. "Ah... I guess, but... it's not the same anymore."

  "Why?"

  "I did everything with her, Ven. Everything."

  "You can do stuff with me, right?"

  "It's just... not the same."

  "Whatever, let's go get some ice cream."

  "Alright... sounds good."

* * *

 

  Drake stepped into the room, frowning. "You failed? Ugh, all of you here are useless." 

  "Aren't you kinda... greedy..?"

  He stopped, sneering. "Greedy? How? I just want to get back at Delrick in any way for taking my eye away." 

  "You're trying to control me. You just wanna control everything, don't you..? Greeedy..." 

  "Says the one that wants to eat everything." Drake snapped, flicking the lights back on and frowning at Bean. "You better do your job right next time. If you don't... I'll figure out a way to make you suffer. Got it?"

  The lights went back off as another person strode into the room. "Arguing again, huh?"

  "Oh, it's you." The spirit groaned, his shadow's face showing up on the wall with a bored look. "What do you want, now?"

  "I'm just here to prove little Bean here wrong." Some light shining through the crack of the door lit up a prideful smirk. "I'm the one in control of things. Mess that up again, and maybe I'll be the one making you miserable." The person slipped out of the room. "Now, do your job right."

  Bean fidgeted. "Who was that?"

  "An asshole." 

* * *

 

  The young demon slowly walked out to the courtyard. _Ah, good... only the girl and her dumb brother are here, now._ He approached the duo. "A-ah, Midori, was it..? I-I lost something under the bleachers! Can you help? You can fit as a cat, r-right?" 

  "...I'm coming."

  "No, no, you don't have to, big bruother. It's just one thing." Midori reassured him, hopping up and walking with Bean. "So, what is it, exactruy?"

  "You'll know it when you see it." 

  After a short period of walking, they reached the gym. The Nekomata walked in first, and the Incubus followed. 

  "Which one is it underu?"

  "Oh..." Bean tilted his head, smiling a little. "There wasn't anything missing."

  "What? Then why did you bruing me herue?" She backed away a little, the cat ears on her head swiveling back. 

  Without another word, he pulled up on the bottom of his hoodie. Around his navel, a large mouth opened, extending across his entire torso. Looking into it, it seemed to be bottomless, having sharp teeth lining it and a very long tongue poking out. 

  "Y...you'rue that... guy fruom earuruier..." 

  "You really need to fix that little lisp you have... might ruin the flavor." The tongue quickly shot out like the rope attached to a grappling hook, wrapping around the girl's ankles and lifting her into the air. By this point, Midori wasn't even bothering to talk over her fearful sobbing. 

  One thing slipped out, though. 

_"B...b-big bruother..!!"_

  By this point, the whining was annoying the demon.

_"Sh...shut up! Shut up and lemme eat you!! I'm **hungry** and if I mess up again, I'll..!! **Just shut up!** "_

 


	19. What's On the Menu?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> About time.

  Not a single soul heard as the tongue went back into the mouth on Bean's stomach, taking Midori with it and swallowing her whole. She was gone. 

* * *

  Over the next few weeks, Remus became more and more concerned. Flecks of black were visible in the roots of his hair, concerning him further.  _Dark Matter is attracted to negative emotions. That is exactly how Mevel became a malevolent spirit, isn't it? Midori is gone, and I couldn't do anything to save her this time._

  The final straw was when Drake and Watson decided to pay him a visit one day. The black in the roots of his hair was very noticeable, and his irises seemed to be fading. The dangerous altercations brought by being a host to a large amount of the shadowy, mysterious substance, obviously. Together, the spirit and imp tormented him endlessly about the Nekomata's disappearance, until it happened. His hair was completely black, his eyes pure white.

  Occasionally, he could've sworn he saw dark images and heard things... these side effects were completely unexpected and not documented. It was maddening to see images of his adoptive sibling dying in gruesome ways over and over, whether he was alone or not. Every last sight made him want to cry out in a mixture of anguish and bitter anger, rushing forward and sweeping Midori into his arms to make her safe, but they were just images in his head. He was noticeably becoming more bitter, more dark and cruel towards others, at least, verbally.

  All he wanted was to see his adoptive little sister again.

* * *

Hello everyone!! Sorry for such a long wait and short chapter, I'm going through a very bad writer's block, plus, my life has been very busy lately with school, things with friends, and staying home sick for like, three days. As an apology, please take this drawing of Bean. 

And this one (warning for eye strain)  


I'll try to get my muse back, but this might become a hiatus!


	20. In Memoriam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's to the ones that left us.

 Everything was dark. Adair - he eventually ceased using the Remus moniker after everyone agreed Midori was most likely dead - silently stood in the middle of a field on the edge of the town, solemnly looking at a trio of carved stones alone from the rest of the graves. He shook quietly, a few tears leaking from the corners of his eyes down his blank face. Each stone was smooth and rounded, gathered together in a small group. Only one had a mound in front of it.

_Maxwell Ulrich_

_1981-2014_

 He unstably sighed, trembling as he read the words on the stone. This grave was the one with the mound of dirt, unsettled from a group of people lowering the petrified body into a hole. Adair weakly smiled, remembering the few moments he spent with this stepmother of his, placing a single flower down on the mound.

 He was much closer with his father, which made looking at the next grave hurt more.

  _Semur Delrick_

_1976-2014_

 After writing that small book of his, Semur had made a terrible mistake. He was researching in Tanglewood Forest when an angry resident of the area bewitched him, dooming him to slowly become a large tree. His insectlike legs had rooted into the ground and became tree roots when he was with his son, in the courtyard outside of the school. Bark, branches, and leaves had gradually sprouted from and covered his body, and he was assumed to be in a permanently vegetative state recently, after the tree completely took over his body. Gone were the days Adair would sit under the tree growing around his father’s body, talking to him and eating lunch with Midori sitting on his back.

 A sapling had been planted behind the stone as a memorial to Semur.

_Midori Suzuki_

_2004-2014_

 Reading over the name on the last stone broke Adair, making him lean on the ground in front of it while unable to contain his bottled-up anguish. Even though she had only been with them for roughly five years, he loved her dearly and desperately tried to protect her. Finding out that she had gone missing and was assumed dead felt like being hit by a massive truck, breaking his heart into pieces. Quietly, he sat there, trying to remember how they met. The memories came to him clearly, surprising for the state he was in, mentally. She was in the form of a small, black kitten, trembling and crying out in the rain, completely new to the town. Her back leg was badly hurt, nearly broken, from a still-unknown incident. He pitied her, taking her in. As soon as he found out she was mostly human, much like he was, he grew even closer to the little Nekomata. But that all ended only a month or so ago. Who or whatever did this to her, he’d make sure to make them pay.

 “...why did it have to be you?” He murmured, his voice cracking a bit as he stood up and laid a small bundle of tiger lilies in front of the stone. Before he left, he could’ve sworn he saw her, standing in front of him, but there was a dark, artificial quality to it. ...just… that stuff messing with my head.

 He shook it off and walked back to his house. The emptiness he was used to, by now. Adair solemnly grabbed a book and read in silence, neglecting and refusing to go to the local school anymore. This was now a daily routine for him - wake up, visit the graves, read, go to sleep.

* * *

  Katherine and Ventrico stood together on the hill, the kitsune leaning on the cockatrice’s shoulder and letting a few tears loose. They both looked down at the stone in the ground, behind a small mound the kitsune had spread several yellow and white roses on.

  “...miss you, Soph.”

  _Sephrona Rogan_

_1998 - 2014_

  The satyr was Katie’s best friend, and Ven wished she’d be able to have known her longer. Ven patted Katie’s back as she sobbed into her friend’s chest.

* * *

  “So, what is this, again, Drake?” Watson asked as they walked. The ghost looked sad for once, which set the imp off a bit. What was on his mind?

  “Oh, it’s… nothing. Nothing.” Eventually, he stopped walking, staring down at a gravestone.

  Wata slowly read the words on the stone, quietly gasping in realization.

_Drake Mevel_

_1873 - 1891_

  “...my family used to live in Ireland. Pretty rich, owned a lot of land. One day in what I now know is 1891, people that worked under us revolted. Burnt our house down. I had no idea I died in the fire and tagged along with my family when they went to America to get land back. Had no idea why nobody could see me, so I couldn’t make myself visible to living people cause I had no idea I was even dead. The house they made eventually attracted more people, became a little town. It’s close by, this graveyard’s for both towns.” His tone was quiet and grim, and he seemed to shake a little at the memories.

  “As soon as I saw my headstone in the graveyard, I realized it. I was so angry at the time, it took over me. This place is weird… it has that dark matter stuff. It’s attracted to strong negative emotions, which is why it’s in me. Why it’s in you. Why it’s in Poe, or, uh, Enoch. Why it’s now in Adair. I have no idea where Enoch even came from, though. Maybe there’s another place with this stuff? Who knows.”

  “So why did you take me here, exactly?” Watson ruined the mood with his question.

  Drake scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Because today the entire town decided to visit the graves of friends and loved ones. You’re my closest friend, man.”

  “Right, right. --oh, hey.” He pointed to a cluster of nearby stones. “They your family?”

  Drake glanced at the stones, nodding. “I never really cared for ‘em, besides my dad and this girl who helped make and fix clothes and other things. Clavis Mevel and Chastity Daugherty. I, uh… really liked Chassie, as she liked being called. Kinda had a crush on her. She came with the family and seemed to be affected just as badly as everyone else by my death. She worked herself to death. Dad got shot by some guy who was jealous of how rich he was.”

  Watson looked up at the sky, leaning back. “...huh. Sorry for your loss, I guess.”

  “It’s fine. You get tired of people saying that after a few decades of listening to it over and over.”

* * *

  The new principal - and mayor, really, after Maxwell’s passing - sat back, confused. He didn’t remember ordering any of the new tech that was gradually being brought into the school. Practically every room and hall had some sort of screen, and there was technology everywhere. It was a bit unsettling, The upgrade was nice, but where was it all coming from?

  “Raito? C’mon, where the fuck didja go? After I charged my phone you just vanished!”

  “Oh, hey, Resa. I’m right here.” The voice came from behind him. Was he finally out of the tech? He turned around. “All these new screens everywhere sure are convenient, am I right?” His upper body was visible on the monitor on the wall, smiling. He seemed a bit… glitchy, but it wasn't anything alarming.

  “I can go wherever you go here, now, even if you don’t have your phone on you!”

  "...sweet!"


	21. What Walks On Two Legs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the hiatus. The next chapters will be longer than this, I promise!

 A calm serenity washed over the small town, with the only disturbance being the light flapping of four wings. This broke the solemn silence, shining a light into the sorrow that had seeped into the atmosphere. From above, the feet of a youthful seraph touched the ground, causing the crunching of fallen autumn leaves to resound in the still, dry air. Worry saturated his expression, a sympathetic mask trying in vain to cover it. Nearby, the sniffly mourning of the half-insect was faintly heard, despite almost six months passing between this moment and the passing of his adoptive sister. He was hunched over, with his head tilted towards the ground, the cluster of graves sitting before him.

 “Adair,” Milo soothingly murmured, gently settling a hand on the other boy’s shoulder, “let’s go, alright? Everyone’s worried about you.”

 Reluctantly complying, the other sat up, wiping his damp face with a sleeve. He shuddered a final time and followed the steps of the freckled ginger towards the school’s courtyard. A handful of acquaintances and friends awaited his arrival.

 “Are you alright, Dell?” Katherine inquired as she shifted into her foxlike form, comfortingly nudging his leg with her snout. Her tails idly swayed back and forth, slowly, like the movement of a pendulum. Out of everyone in the gathering who had lost a loved one, Adair had been struck the worst, losing both of his parents and his sibling within a year or so, so it was natural he was still upset after losing his entire living family. The kitsune solemnly lowered her head at his lack of a response.

 Xander sat in a leaned-back chair, having his feet placed on the top of a lunch table as he kept a watchful eye on Ryan, gnawing on his thumbnail. “I’m sure he isn’t. He lost a lot recently, give him time to recover. If it’s bad enough to make him a host for the Dark Matter, it’s definitely gonna take a lot for him to settle down.” Rolling his eyes, he snapped a couple times at the Black Widow-possessed teen, who was beginning to try and make a web on the underside of that same table. Ryan twitched a bit and stopped. “C’mon, Taylor, don’t give into those spider urges. I’m trying to save you from this, not let you worsen yourself.”

 They promptly began to squint intensely at each other; the two often had little arguments through Ryan thinking negative thoughts, Xander reading his mind and finding them, and thusly sending an angry refutal back.

 “...are you sure they’re dead? Maybe they’re in the--” Before Poe could finish his statement, he was silenced by a glare from Milo, who was still angry at the pale-haired boy for turning on them. “...nevermind…”

 A high-pitched chortle responded to the boy’s inquiry. “Ohoho, but you are correct!” A bronze-skinned man with a catlike face and the lower half of a lion was now sitting at the table, apparently. “Allow me to reiterate with one of my riddles~ Ones who passed in the past are truly not passed, but their passed passings are shrouded in darkness from the past! I am the Sphinx, you know.”

 “That ain’t a riddle, that’s just confusing.” Watson snapped, frowning. The imp fluttered his batlike wings, folding his arms across his chest.

 “No, no, I am saying that your loved ones are not dead… just trapped in a place full of darkness. That is all! I would be pleased to stay and chat, but Hades - who sent me - would be disappointed if his little messenger embezzled away more time than needed. Toodles!”

 Before anyone else could speak, the mythical being was gone.

 Heads slowly turned to face Adair, who was standing up and fuming.

  “Where do they have Midori?” He hissed.

  “Where the fuck do they have Midori?!”


	22. The Rescue: Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two-parters are fun.
> 
> This one is short, since the other is gonna have a ton of action in the void.

  A ring of people stood in the courtyard, with Edward ‘Poe’ Allens in the center, staring down at trembling hands. He squeezed his eyes shut, clenching his fists, then lowered his hands, looking around with a hopeless look.

  “I… I-I’m sorry. I can’t do it.” His voice had the same tone as his expression held: pure defeat and regret.

  The ring of acquaintances and friends - and ex-friends - had many different looks on their faces.

  Watson’s bored, unamused stare. Drake’s mischievous smirk, accompanied by him nudging the imp’s side with an elbow. Milo’s contempt towards Poe. Adair’s stern determination. Katie’s worry. Xander’s annoyance towards Ryan, who was sitting by the tree and trying to make a little web. Ven’s comforting look towards Katie. Bean’s sleepiness.

  “I’ll never be able to redeem myself, will I..?” The boy weakly whimpered, staring at one hand. “Why can’t I do this?”

  His raven familiar lighted down on his shoulder, comfortingly nudging his cheek with her beak. “The power seems to be at its peak when you’re feeling negative emotions. Perhaps to avoid having to make yourself feel down I could weaken the power dampening Enoch’s influence?”

  Poe was trembling more at this point, looking terrified. “No. If… what if I lose control and Enoch takes over?”

  “If he does, I’ll make sure you stay with us.”

  Drake whispered a comment in the demon’s ear, making him snicker. “Hey, Poe, why not let Drake and I just torment you until it happens, huh? Heheh, that’d be easy, considering how upset you got when we first met!”

  “You’re not helping anything, Wata.” Katie snapped. “Can’t you see he feels bad enough already? He’s afraid.”

  “Good.” A few heads turned to look at the seraph in confusion. Milo crossed his arms, stepping forward and staring down Poe. “How do we know you’re not just some act set up by Enoch to gain our trust? I was your FRIEND, Poe. Up until I found out you’re just a ploy. I’m not letting myself get thrown away again.”

  Watch it, Travis. A warning from Xander invaded the angel’s thoughts, making him shoot a glare at the esper, with a you stay out of this.

  “...is that… is that really…” With eyes that were beginning to tear up and a mix of anger and grief on his face, the white-haired boy snapped back. “To think I believed it was possible to regain a friend that didn’t trust me anymore! Looks like the belief that all angels are nice people is a lie, huh?! Am I just a fake personality to you?! I know that’s what I really am, but THIS fake personality has FEELINGS, and you just WALKED ALL OVER THEM!” He turned around and shoved his way through the circle of people. “I’m through with this stupid town. It’s obvious I’ll never be wanted here.”

  Katie walked over to Milo, frowning. “Good going, you BUTT! We just lost our chance to get Soph and Mi back!” The kitsune growled, shoving the angel’s shoulder.

  “I’ll get him.” Watson bluntly remarked, spreading his wings and darting after the boy, taking flight.

  After a long period of silence and tense waiting, a dark hole opened up on the ground in the middle of the ring of people. Without a choice, they all went in, considering it was sucking on them.

  In the endless darkness, Poe stood nearby, with blank eyes and a shaky grin.

  
Continued in chapter 23.


	23. The Rescue: Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas to anyone bothering to read this.
> 
> The end is a bit rushed, but I'm hoping to maybe get a Christmas-themed thing in soon.

  “Oh, good, you guys are here..!” Watson looked over at the others from where he stood, distanced from Enoch. “His-his feather got lost when we got here. It could be gone for good…”

  Something seemed off about everything. Ryan doubled over, causing worry in Xander. A quiet, bestial-sounding growl came from Bean. The missing people were nowhere to be seen.

  “Where are they? Did you find them?” Milo snapped. “We didn’t come here for _nothing_ , you know!”

  “Oh, yeah.” The imp stepped back, showing Sephrona and Midori standing behind him. Sophie ran over to Katie, smiling and hugging her close friend. Midori began to rush to Adair-

  This was all wrong.

  Watson never actually harmed Midori past terrifying her, but there it is.

  He lashed out with his leg, kicking the girl in the gut. “Oh, _no_ , you can’t have a happy reunion just yet, kiddo. Remember what Drake did to you before? What if I did that, but fucked you up even worse, maybe even killed you, with everyone watching?”

  “B-big bruother..!!” Midori cried out, falling backwards with a wheeze. She tried to get around him by shifting into her cat form, but was met with a foot pressing down on her back.

  “Ah, ah, ah!” The imp smirked. “Try to move again, and I’ll snap your spine!” The cat whimpered, trying to get away, giving out a yelp as the demon pressed harder on her back. “I wasn’t kidding!”

  Adair stepped towards the two. “Let her go, or I will break your FUCKING spine in HALF.” His fists were clenched, and his expression held a look of pure fury. People standing nearby nervously stepped away.

_“...Big bruother? Big brother! P-pruease, I-I’m ruight herue…!”_   Was that Midori? Her voice, coming from right beside him… but she was right in front of him, being tormented by Watson, he thought.

  ...no. No, this wasn’t right. He… he was seeing things again? Midori was safe? “...Midori..?”

  “...hey, you alright..?” Katie nervously asked the half-insect. “You were just yelling at Watson like he was holding Midori hostage or something.”

  “...no. I’m… not alright. Obviously not, if-if I’m seeing things again.”

  “Oooohhh, there you are! The big, tasty-looking bug!” Bean walked over to Adair, his hood over his face. All that was visible was a wide, hungry smile.

  The half-bug tilted his head. “...eh? Tasty?”

  “Ah, you know what I mean.” He looked up, a single green eye staring at him as the bottom of his hoodie lifted a little, with a huge, gaping mouth full of sharp teeth opening on his stomach.

* * *

 

  Xander looked over at Ryan, concerned at how shaky he was. “Hey, you alright?”

  “...ngh, totally…” Ryan hissed under his breath. Spider legs sprouted out of his back, and the little fangs in his mouth were definitely noticeable. He screeched, tackling Xander.

  “Ryan-- Ryan! What the hell?!” He choked out, his eyes wide with confusion and terror as he just barely kept him from biting his throat. “What are you doing?!”

  _This void is making my hold on him stronger, you know._ Some ominous voice resounded in the esper’s head. Was this that spider he saw once when looking into his friend’s thoughts?

  Feeling regretful, Xander did the one thing he felt would help this situation. He reached back, and punched him in the face. Surprisingly enough, it managed to knock the delirious possessee out.

  Squeezing his eyes shut, he pushed into the thoughts of his ‘friend’. _Come on, Ryan, you can resist this stupid spider!_ When he was in, he was shocked at what he saw. There was just a massive, ethereal web filling the space, with a cocoon-like bundle of silk in the middle, and the Widow resting on it, its legs firmly lodged into the bundle.

  “Oh, you’re here, huh?” The spider inquired. “Too bad, he’s mine, you know.”

  “Wh--” Silk shot out of the web at him, wrapping around his throat and roughly throwing him away from it, nearly knocking him unconscious as he slammed into a ‘wall’. “Come on, dammit..!” He ran forward, narrowly dodging more sticky wires, diving into the meshwork. Strands of the spider’s silk turned sharp, viciously cutting into him, but he still tried to get deeper, struggling to get to the bundle.

  “You’ll never make it, you know. If you die of blood loss while in his mind, you’ll die for real, you know.”

  “Shut up!” Xander reached through the fibers, grabbing the body of the arachnid with a shaky yet strong grip. “I want my friend back!”

  Countless fibers dug into his skin. “Let go! He’s mine! I need this vessel!”

  “I never liked spiders.” That was the last thing he said before ripping the spider away, crushing it between his hands. Everything then faded, because in reality, he collapsed from the blood loss.

* * *

 

  Many failed attempts to swallow the insectlike centaur whole made the ‘Incubus’ angry. He clenched his teeth, the tongue coming from the mouth on his stomach wrapping around Adair’s throat.

  “If I can’t swallow you whole… I’ll just rip you to pieces..!!”

  “Gh-hghhk--” He tried to counter what the demon just said, but he was too busy being choked by a big, slimy tongue thing to respond. Oh well.

  Midori trembled, trying to think of how to help. “B-big bruother..!! H-he truied to eat me… i-it’s not nice in his beruy at aru…”

  He… tried to eat her..?

  Anger flashed in his expression. He lifted a leg, and trusted it towards Bean’s stomach-- “Ghkk-- st-t--” This failed, and only made the grip on his throat tighten.

  “Big… bruother…”

  “Stop struggling, or I’ll rip your head off!!”

  “Big… big bruother..!”

  “M-Mi-- Mido-or-ri--”

  A snarl broke out, making Bean look around, confused. What was that? He shrugged and continued to tighten the tongue’s grip. A black blur tackled him, making him let go of Adair completely.

_“STOP HURUTING BIG BRUOTHER!!”_

  Adair stared in awe. Midori was a cat, but definitely not a small one, like she usually was. Instead, she was the size of a tiger, pinning the demon down and snarling at him. “...Midori…”

  She grabbed the tongue in her mouth, completely ripping it off, inciting a pained screech from Bean. “Don’t hurut him! Everu again!!”

  The demon got up and fled over to Watson, who had been watching the entire thing. He clapped lightly, in a sarcastic manner. “Wow. Good job. Not.” The imp smirked, darting over to Midori, who had since then gone back to her mostly human form, grabbing her and flying up. “Thanks for wearing her out for me, heheh!”

  Adair hoarsely yelled at the demon, once again really angry. “Watson..! You son of a BITCH! _LET HER GO!_ ”

* * *

 

  Milo stood by Enoch, glaring at him. “You again.”

  “Oh, hel~lo there.” He grinned, holding a hand pulsing with Dark Matter out. “Long time no see.” He would have said more, but the Seraph quickly took flight, sending a literal flying kick into his chest, making him recoil with a smirk. “This is hurting Poe, not me, you know.”

  “Eh..? I thought Poe was the fake, not your ass..!” Milo spat, landing behind him and turning around with another kick to his back. “Fuck off!”

  “No, no.” Tilting his head back to look at Milo, he laughed slightly. “Neither of us are fake. Ever heard of demonic possession? Heheheheh…”

  “You’re… a demon..? Poe is real..?” Milo clenched his fists.

  “That’s the ticket.”

  That was it. Milo couldn’t take this anymore. “You… get out of him! _GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY FRIEND’S BODY..!!”_ In a split second, Milo went from calm to literally burning with anger. Who knew he already had the little fire abilities of a Seraph? He punched Enoch in the back, over and over and over.

  “Punching me is only going to hurt Poe and convince me to stay in this body even longer, you know.”

  Behind him, Midori fell down to the ground, with Watson landing nearby. “Having fun, there, Enoch? Or should I say, Vindince?”

  “Yeah! Heh, thanks for helping me into this body, you know.”

  “Helping… wh…” Milo turned on Watson, completely enraged. He tackled him.

  “What, are you surprised..? All the shit that’s happened ever since Poe got here… yep, all me.”

  Punching him in the face several times, Milo was heaving. He was tiring himself out. “You… ASSHOLE..!! FUCK YOU, FUCK YOU, FUCK YOU..!!”

  A raven flew into the fray. “Milo, please, settle down…” She sighed. The imp was getting beaten on so badly he was bleeding. She then looked at ‘Vindince’, flying at him. “Begone!” A bright flash emanated in the area, and Poe’s body fell backwards, leaving some figure floating behind.

  He had short black hair, with long white bangs at his hairline, as well as pale skin. Wispy gray markings were on his forehead, cheeks, and body, accentuating pale green eyes and a mostly red, white, and black outfit. He narrowed his eyes, slapping his hands together. “...you might have won this time, but keep in mind- I don’t even want you all in my domain anymore! Get out! I’ll be back for Poe, eventually!”

  The darkness melted away, leaving everyone standing back in the courtyard.

 

  “...that ended a lot faster than I expected, and I didn’t even do anything.” Drake mused.


	24. UPDATE !

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm keeping this up, still, but I'm going to rewrite Willow Falls. Keep an eye out!

Can't wait? Here's a preview!

* * *

Bright lights made opening his eyes a struggle, almost painful, at that. His entire body felt as limp and heavy as a rag soaked to the core with cold water. He could barely lift his head, let alone a weak arm to feel that he had a thin wrapping of clean gauze on his head. Did he have some kind of concussion? He didn’t feel like he had one, and he knew what those felt like.

...did he? He couldn’t remember a thing. All he knew were two words. Edward Allens. Was that his name? Probably.

After a few minutes, he felt awake enough to sit up and look around. He was in a hospital room. The floor was shiny and very reflective. It would be good to know who he was, at least his own appearance, right? He had short, pale hair, the same color as a light dusting of snow. The only abnormality was a stain of inky black in the left side of the roots of his hair. His eyes were almond-shaped, the irises holding an icy blue hue. He most likely had albinism, it seemed.

The sound of the door opening made him become alert. Who was that? Was he supposed to know this person?

A woman with straight brown hair cut just below her shoulders came into the room, holding a clipboard under one arm. A few thick strands of her locks were drawn back to the back of her head, braided and affixed there by a large barrette. Her expression held nothing but a businesslike, blank slate, with the sightest hint of caring in her honey-colored eyes. She was in the hospital’s uniform, with a large logo made out of red, green, and white medical crosses of varying sizes on the back of her coat.

“Ah, so you’re awake.” She stated with a dull tone, holding the clipboard in her hands and tapping a pen on the surface.

Edward strains to keep his eyes open under the bright lights, tilting his head slightly to convey his confusion. “...who... are you?” At least he could remember one thing- how to actually talk.

“I’m a doctor, honey.” She sighed, rolling her eyes. “Call me Doctor J. That’s all the information I’m willing to give out. We’re unsure on whether or not you’re a good guy, considering you seem to have a dangerous escaped subject in your body.”

Escaped subject? In… in his body? That was a huge shock to be one of the first new memories he was given. How does that work? It’s not like ghosts existed or anything. “...subject? In… my body..?” His head was throbbing due to his slight photophobia making his eyes hurt, and it was difficult to focus.

“Subject #001 of the Dark Matter Containment Program. A malignant wraith known to form bonds with souls of people’s bodies, only able to be held back by powerful magic. We believe the only reason you aren’t taken over by zero-zero-one is because of a charm your familiar has on you.”

This was too much information for Edward to handle. “...program..? Wraith? Magic… familiar? I… don’t understand.”

“You will eventually. Trust me-” Doctor J held up a single index finger as a bluetooth in her ear beeped. She held her hand on a button on the side, listening closely to whoever was on the other end. Nodding quietly, she left the room for a moment and came back after a short few minutes. She held a bundle of clothes in her arms and sat it down on the bed Edward was in. “Get dressed. Your familiar is waiting for you in the lobby, and we’ve deemed you stable enough to leave for now.”

The doctor strolled out of the room, the sound of her heels clicking against the floor echoing down the hall as the door slowly closed. Taking a few breaths and steadying himself after standing, Edward took off the thin hospital gown covering his body and got dressed.


End file.
